


Singles Mixer

by AlexIsOkay



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, a lot of crack humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2020-10-28 13:43:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20779541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexIsOkay/pseuds/AlexIsOkay
Summary: In the mid-90s, Dia Kurosawa works at her campus radio station alongside a group of her close friends. When she begins to show cracks from her stress and her exhaustion,  the rest of the gang see a very simple solution: get her a girlfriend. Because when Dia is already overwhelmed by work and school, a relationship is certainly the thing that will balance it all out.





	1. Chapter 1

“Goooooooood morning everyone! To those of you just tuning in, welcome! And to everyone who’s been here with me this whole time, go get some rest! I know I’m certainly about to. I’ve been Mari Ohara, and thank you so so much for hanging out with me these past couple of hours! I’ve got a few final tracks to tide you all over until next time, so sit back and enjoy the sweet sounds of the German house scene. And as always, I hope the rest of your day is just as shiny as you are! Toodles!”

With her outro finished Mari pushed one of the sliders on the board in front of her, watching as the recording light beside her microphone turned off, and listening as the cart next to her whirred up while it started to play the next tape. Once that was taken care of she slid her headphones off her ears, dropping them onto the desk in front of her before standing up from her chair, stretching her arms into the air and letting out a long yawn. She pivoted on her heels and marched towards the door leading out of the recording booth, tossing it open and bursting into the radio station’s lounge.

The lounge was a small, somewhat cramped space, and one that was in desperate need of some care and organization. There was a long couch, and a few chairs, though all of them were a few decades old by this point, upholstery torn up and stained. The table in the center of the room was covered in old magazines and empty soda cans- soda cans that clearly hadn’t been purchased from the vending machine in the corner, since it had been out of order for as long as anyone could remember. The walls were covered with old, often torn posters, some of them for various bands or artists radio station employees enjoyed while others promoted events their station had put on in the past, now sitting there as memorabilia since nobody had ever bothered to take them down. Overhead were a few flickering fluorescent lights that were an eyesore at night, though right now, around seven in the morning, there was enough light coming in through the windows that it wasn’t an issue. And then, of course, there were the two other people in the station as well.

“Good show today?” Kanan Matsuura asked, not even glancing up from the magazine she was reading when Mari came into the room. She was sitting in a rolling chair with one leg crossed over the other, a chewed up lollipop stick hanging out between her teeth. Unlike Mari, Kanan wasn’t actually a DJ or a host. She wasn’t much of a fan of getting behind the microphone, and instead she was just there to make sure everything ran smoothly, to make sure all the equipment worked and nothing broke down during the show. With Mari that didn’t tend to be as much of an issue, but some of the less experienced members of the station sometimes had trouble with those things, so Kanan always tried to make sure someone was around to keep an eye on it regardless.

“Kanan!” Mari gasped, feigning offense. “It’s like you didn’t even listen!”

“I listened,” Kanan insisted, eyes still glued to the page in front of her. “But with all the crap you play it’s hard to tell if any of it was actually good or not.”

“Hmph,” Mari replied, turning her nose up and pivoting away from Kanan. “I’m sorry you don’t have any taste, then. Euro reggae isn’t for the uncultured masses I suppose.” After saying that Mari’s eyes glanced across the room, looking over towards the couch against the opposite wall- and to the person sleeping on top of it.

Dia Kurosawa was laying there, out cold, with a thin blanket pulled up over her. She was meant to be going in for her own hosting block now that Mari was finished, though she had gotten to the station a bit early and had elected to pass back out to catch up on whatever little sleep she could. Miraculously, she didn’t seem to have been bothered by Mari’s entrance.

“Dia looks like she’s sleeping well,” Mari hummed.

“Can you blame her?” Kanan replied. “She’s been running herself ragged. I swear, this is the first sleep she’s gotten in a week.”

“That’s just Dia for you!” Mari sang out. “I’m mostly just surprised you didn’t already wake her up.”

“I figured you would have more fun doing it.”

“You figured correctly!” With that Mari paused for a moment, clearing her throat and straightening her posture, before she started to hurl herself across the room at maximum speed. “WAKE UP DIA!”

“I’LL BE A GOOD GIRL ELI-SENPAI-” Dia shouted back, bolting upright from her position on the couch, eyes wide and panicked as her disoriented, still half-asleep brain tried to parse her surroundings. Mari was halfway across the room at that point, though now she froze in place, stuck midway through her running motion, staring at Dia while Dia stared back at her. They remained like that for several seconds, locked in tense, awkward silence, until Kanan finally broke it with a cough.

“You’re on in ten minutes, Dia.”

“R-Right,” Dia murmured, clearing her throat and pushing her blanket aside. “Thank you.” Despite the fact that she was technically up now she still looked exhausted, though, letting out another long yawn and reaching up to rub her bleary eyes. Kanan’s observations about how little sleep Dia got on any given night were accurate, to say the least. Fortunately for Dia, she had someone looking out for her.

“We’re heeeeere!”

“And we brought breakfast!”

Two someones, actually.

You Watanabe and Ruby Kurosawa had just walked in through the station’s front door, You balancing a tray of coffee in front of her while Ruby was carrying several greasy paper bags stuffed to the brim with fast food breakfast sandwiches. Unlike Dia, who was not a morning person in the slightest, Ruby tended to be up at the crack of dawn every single day, and by seven in the morning she was already in full swing. You, meanwhile, wasn’t a morning person so much as she was a “stay up for three days straight and then pass out for the next two” person. And at the moment she was right in the middle of her sweet spot.

“You two are my heroes!” Mari swooned, bouncing her way over towards the table and shoving a few of the magazines piled up there out of the way so that You and Ruby would have space to set breakfast down.

“You shouldn’t be drinking coffee if you’re about to go to sleep,” Kanan chided.

“And you shouldn’t be bossing me around like this outside of the bedroom,” Mari replied. “But here we both are!”

“Can you not say things like that in front of my sister?” Dia growled, shooting Mari a glare as she reached out to take one of the cups of coffee.

“C’mon, Dia-san,” You snickered. “Ruby’s not a kid anymore.”

“I will cut off every finger you’ve ever put inside her.”

“Aww, at least let me keep one.”

“You’re dead.”

“_Anyway_,” Kanan interrupted, reaching up over her shoulder to tap the clock hanging on the wall behind her. “We need you in that booth, so drink up.”

“The coffee’s pretty hot,” You added on, “so be care-” Before she could finish that sentence, though, Dia had already raised the cup to her lips, tilting her head back as she started to chug the scalding hot beverage. She kept her eyes locked on You the entire time, continuing to gulp for a solid thirty seconds until she finally pulled the cup away and slammed it onto the table in front of her. You’s mouth was still halfway open from her interrupted sentence, and she was simply staring at Dia now, while Dia stared right back at her. Without a word Dia finally pushed herself up from the couch, walking past the table, past Kanan and Mari, and into the recording booth without breaking her eyes from You until the last moment. You watched her the entire way in turn, until the door swung closed and blocked Dia from view, at which point she leaned in closer towards Ruby.

“Babe?”

“Yeah?” Ruby replied.

“Your sister terrifies me.”

“I know.”

“Dia’s not so scary,” Mari insisted, walking over to the couch and dropping down to claim the space Dia had just vacated. She picked up another one of the coffee cups and popped the lid off, before producing an airplane bottle of whiskey from her sleeve, which she proceeded to unscrew and dump into her drink. “She’s just a bit uptight and high strung, especially lately. You know what I think her problem is?”

“Are you about to say she needs to get laid again?” Kanan asked.

“Two for two today, Kanan!” Mari replied. “You’re killing it! I think the stick up Dia’s butt would disappear pretty quickly if she just started getting a different stick up a different place- Or maybe still up her butt!” she added. “I don’t know what she’s into.”

“I don’t feel comfortable with this conversation,” Ruby said.

“You-chan! Cover your girlfriend’s ears!”

“Aye aye!” You replied, before clapping her hands onto either side of Ruby’s head to muffle anything else being said. Ruby didn’t exactly look thrilled, but it was better than the alternative.

“Anyway, I’m only half-kidding,” Mari continued, swirling her coffee around in her hand while she waited for it to cool. “I know you’ve all vetoed ‘Operation Get Dia Kurosawa Some Pussy’ in the past-”

“The name is literally the only reason I’ve vetoed it,” Kanan interrupted.

“The name is non-negotiable, Kanan.”

“For the record,” You chimed in, while Ruby continued to silently pout and drink her coffee, “I don’t think it’s an awful idea. Dia’s basically the only single one around here-”

“Mari and I aren’t dating,” Kanan interrupted again.

“She’s right. It’s all strictly platonic bro sex,” Mari agreed. “We always say no homo once we’re done.”

“Dia’s basically the only single one around here,” You repeated. “If we could find someone to set her up with it might finally take some of the edge off.”

“Maybe,” Kanan begrudgingly admitted. “We’ve been through this before, though. I’m not really sure who.”

“It’s certainly a dangerous game,” Mari agreed. “My first thought is always to try to find someone similar to Dia, but if we hook her up with someone who’s as high strung as she is the two will just compound into a black hole of stress that will swallow up everything around it and we’ll have twice as big a problem on our hands.”

“So we’ve gotta find her someone who’s low-key enough to mellow her out instead, huh…” You mused.

“Someone who’s chilled out and carefree enough to bring Dia down to her level…” Kanan said.

“Someone who’s basically the complete opposite of Dia in every way…” Mari hummed. The room went silent for a moment after that, all of them contemplating the question, until suddenly a look of realization dawned over You’s face.

“Holy shit,” she said. “I think I’ve got it.

“Do you?” Mari asked.

“Yeah. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner, honestly.”

“I don’t know what’s going on!” Ruby shouted. And meanwhile, several blocks away, in the dorm room You hadn’t slept in for the past thirty-six hours, her roommate was peacefully dozing through her third alarm of the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Come eleven am that same day, You was still feeling good. She hadn’t slept for close to forty hours at that point, but a carefully crafted concoction of Red Bull and more Red Bull had her feeling fine regardless. She’d eaten breakfast at the radio station while conspiring with Kanan and Mari, snuck off to make out with Ruby under a stairwell for a little bit, gone to her first class of the day, and now she was headed back to her dorm room, twirling her keyring around on her finger and whistling to herself as she walked down the hall. As she got close to the door she could hear music playing from the other side before she even got there, and You simply rolled her eyes as she fit the key into the lock and pushed the door open.

The interior of the room told a story of two people who were very different from one another, yet both equally disastrous in their own ways. You had claimed the left half of the room when they had first moved in, and her desk and bed were both in a disheveled, messy state. Her bed wasn’t made, and didn’t look like it ever had been in its life, while her desk was piled high with books that You needed for class, organized in a structure that made sense to her and precisely nobody else. The area underneath You’s bed was filled with a pile of dirty laundry she hadn’t gotten around to doing, with a few empty cans and snack wrappers mixed in for good measure. The walls were mostly bare, but there were a few photographs taped up that You had taken while hanging out with her friends. Her personal favorite was a blurry photograph of Dia at the pool, from when Dia had attacked her after realizing You was trying to take a photograph of Dia at the pool.

You’s roommate’s side of the room, on the other hand, wasn’t so much chaotic from a lack of effort as it was chaotic from an overabundance of it. Every available inch of wall was covered with some sort of decoration or magazine tearout, the overwhelming majority of them featuring photographs of the various pop idols her roommate was obsessed with. The deks was no exception to this either, piled high with stacks of magazines the aforementioned tearouts had come from, along with towers of CD cases, once again mostly consisting of idol pop albums. Even her roommate’s blanket had idols printed on it, which You found sincerely unnerving but was too afraid to comment on. And of course, sitting there behind her desk, blasting idol pop over her radio and not at all paying attention to the textbook laid out in front of her, was You’s roommate herself: Chika Takami.

“Chika-chan!” You said as she entered the room, raising her voice up to be heard over the radio.

“You-chan!” Chika called back, pivoting around in her chair to face her roommate. “I haven’t seen you in like, over a day! I was starting to think you’d died!”

“I’m not convinced I didn’t! Time is meaningless and I can’t feel half my body!” You grinned at Chika as she walked the rest of the way into the room, tossing her backpack onto her bed and hopping up, motioning towards the radio, and to her relief Chika did turn the volume down to a more reasonable level. “I’m glad you’re here, though. You’re just the person I wanted to talk to.”

“Normally any time someone says that it means I’m in trouble for something,” Chika muttered.

“You’re not in trouble for anything.”

“I’d better not be! Look!” Chika insisted, grabbing her textbook and holding it up for You to see. “I’m actually doing my homework for once!”

“Congratulations, you’ve reached the bare minimum requirement for being a college student. Also, that’s my econ textbook.”

“I know. I borrowed it.”

“Why? You’re not even taking- Nevermind,” You cut herself off, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment before looking back at Chika. “Let’s focus up. I did actually wanna talk to you about something.”

“Right. Okay,” Chika said, dropping her textbook back onto her table before looking towards You, focusing her expression up into what You could only assume was supposed to be her serious face. An assumption that was validated when Chika verbally said “This is my serious face.”

“Alright,” You started out. “So I’ve been thinking-” She was interrupted at that point, though, when the song that had been playing on the radio came to an end, and a familiar voice started to talk instead.

“That brings us to the end of our show today. Thank you to everyone who’s listened with me for these past few hours-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP DIA,” You shouted, though Dia did not listen, because she was on the radio.

“I do hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of turn of the decade idol pop,” she continued, in a formal, stern tone of voice that didn’t at all match the music that had been playing just a moment prior. “If you’ve found this to be a pleasant listening experience I’ll be hosting another block on Wednesday evening during which I’ll be playing lesser-known current releases that may have slipped under your radar, and I would be honored if you would join me. Until then, enjoy one last track before I hand the reins over to Tsushima-san for four hours of uninterrupted Swedish death metal.”

“God,” Chika said, leaning up against her desk and resting her face against her palm as Dia cut out and the next song started to play. “Doesn’t she have a sexy voice? The kind that just makes you want her to step on you.”

“Well I’m glad you just said that wildly inappropriate thing!” You replied. “Because that’s what I wanted to talk to you about!”

“How so?” Chika asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I’ve been thinking,” You replied, scooting a little closer to the edge of her bed, bringing herself closer to her roommate. “That maybe… It’s time for you to start dating again.”

“You-chan,” Chika sighed, her face immediately faltering. “I’ve-”

“I know, I know,” You interrupted, waving a hand to silence Chika. “I know you’ve been saying you’re not ready to date again, and you just wanna take time to yourself and all that shit, but… C’mon, Chika-chan,” she insisted. “It’s been six months since that redheaded piano playing cuntface broke your heart.”

“Don’t call Riko-chan a redheaded piano playing cuntface!”

“Sorry, sorry. Did we move on? Are we past the ‘hating her’ phase now?”

“Yeah,” Chika muttered. “Now we’re at the ‘Trying to be nice to her when I see her around campus but it’s awkward because sometimes I still think about her when I masturbate and I think she knows it’ phase.”

“Well that’s good!” You said, before hastily correcting herself. “Not- Not the masturbation bit. But the rest of it! You’re starting to move on!”

“I dunno…” Chika insisted, slumping down over the back of her chair. “A little bit, I guess. But…”

“Chika,” You cut in, sliding off her bed completely and walking over towards her roommate. She reached out and clapped her hands onto either side of Chika’s face, squeezing her roommate’s cheeks and forcing Chika to look up at her. “I’m gonna say some stuff now, as your best friend. And I’m gonna need you to sit here and listen to me say it, alright?”

“You’re hurting my face.”

“And I will hurt your face worse if you try to squirm out of this, so consider yourself warned. Now,” You started, “Six months ago you got your heart broken. And it sucked. I was there with you, so I know just how bad it was. But you’ve done the breakup shit. You’ve stuffed your face full of ice cream and you’ve bawled your eyes out over romcoms, and we’ve gotten irresponsibly drunk together and burned a _ disturbingly _ lifelike effigy that, while irresponsibly drunk, I briefly worried was actually her, and now you’re coming out the other side. And being sad over a breakup is normal and healthy, for a little while. But you’re past all that now. You’re at the part where you’ve gotta pick yourself back up, and drag yourself out there, and go on an absolutely _ terrible _first date with someone new so you can get that out of the way and then go on a good first date with the girl I actually wanna set you up with.”

“You-chan, I appreciate that you’re trying to help…” Chika sighed. “I really do. But I just don’t think there’s anyone out there right now who’s-”

“It’s the girl from the radio.”

“WHAT??” Chika shouted, jolting upright and slamming her hands down onto the back of the chair. “You’re gonna set me up on a date with DJ Dia Kurosawa?? DJ Dia Kurosawa wants to go on a date with _ me_??"

“Something like that, yeah,” You replied. “So whaddya say? Does that change your opinion about all of this?”

“But- But how does she- And why would she- And who is-”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“You can’t just throw me into the deep end like this, You-chan!” Chika protested, trying to pull away from You. True to her word You only gripped down even more tightly, pinching Chika’s cheeks and causing Chika to squeal out in pain while she talked.

“C’mon, this is the _ perfect _ opportunity,” You insisted. “How long have you been thirsting after her? Every single time she comes on the radio you’re gushing about how hot she sounds and how funny she is and how she’s got great taste in music.”

“But I love her so much precisely because I thought she was unattainable!” Chika argued. “Right now she only exists as a perfect idealized version of herself in my mind! What if I meet her and she doesn’t live up to the impossibly high expectations I’ve already set!”

“Alright, but counterpoint,” You replied. “What if she _ does _, and you have a great time together. Or at the very least you go on one date and then come back here and have some wild, crazy, mindbending sex with her.”

“Is- Is she kinky?”

_ "So _kinky.” Chika stared up at You for a few more seconds after that, and You could see a handful of emotions flash over Chika’s face, one right after another. Confusion, uncertainty, fear, bargaining, consideration, contemplation, and eventually resolve, until Chika was puffing her cheeks out and looking up towards You again, giving a firm, solemn nod.

“Alright,” she finally said. “If you can _ really _ get me a date with her, I’ll… I’ll go on it.”

“Good,” You said, grinning and giving Chika’s cheeks one more pinch for good measure. Now she just had to hope Kanan and Mari didn’t fuck up their end of the plan.

* * *

“That brings us to the end of our show today. Thank you to everyone who’s listened with me for these past few hours. I do hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of turn of the century idol pop. If you’ve found this to be a pleasant listening experience I’ll be hosting another block on Wednesday evening during which I’ll be playing current releases that may have slipped under your radar, and I would be honored if you would join me. Until then, enjoy one last track before I hand the reins over to Tsushima-san for four hours of uninterrupted Swedish death metal.”

Finishing up her sign off and allowing the next track to play Dia turned off her microphone, slipping off her headphones and rolling her chair away from the desk in front of her. The moment her microphone was off she let out a long yawn, still feeling the effects of the sleep she hadn’t gotten the night before- or for the past few days, for that matter. The nap on the couch earlier really hadn’t done that much for her, and there had been a few points during the show where she’d nearly ended up falling asleep behind the board. Fortunately she was done now, and she only had two papers to work on, which meant if she was lucky she might actually get a full four hours of sleep that night. For now, however, Dia figured food was the most important thing, especially given that she hadn’t actually eaten breakfast. She walked away from the desk and out the door of the recording booth-

Just in time to see Mari and Kanan making out on the couch.

“Can you _ please _ put your shirts back on?” Dia groaned, staring at her friends with an emotionless deadpan from the doorway.

“Whoops!” Kanan snickered, springing upright from on top of Mari, washboard abs on full display while she reached for her shirt. “Your show’s finished already?”

“That’s Mari’s shirt.”

“So it is,” Kanan agreed, tossing Mari’s shirt to her before finding her own.

“It’s a good thing that you walked in on us and not Yoshiko-chan, isn’t it?” Mari hummed, talking while she pulled her shirt on over her head. “At least it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

“I hate that that’s true,” Dia groaned, before glancing towards the station’s main door. “Where is Tsushima-san anyway? Shouldn’t she be here by now?”

“Beats me,” Mari said, shrugging her shoulders once her shirt was finally on. “You know how close she likes to cut it.”

“Can you text her?”

“It’s 1996, Dia. That thing you just said is meaningless.”

“Right.”

“Anyway, it’s good we’ve got a minute alone with you,” Kanan said, before scooting away from Mari, making a space in the center of the couch which she then gestured to. “Come sit with us. We wanted to talk to you about something.” Dia stayed where she was a moment longer, eyes looking to Kanan, then to Mari, then to the empty space, then finally back to Kanan.

“I don’t want to sit on your sex couch.”

“Dia,” Mari gasped, pantomiming deep offense. “We’ve never had sex on this couch!”

“Well, it depends on how loose your definition of sex is,” Kanan admitted.

“I _ sleep _there.”

“Just get over here, alright?” Dia looked at Kanan for a few more silent seconds before she finally relented, letting out a long, drawn out sigh as she made her way across the room. Eventually she came to sit down between them, doing her best to keep her posture upright despite how much the old, worn out cushions sunk down underneath her.

“I already know you’re going to make me regret going along with this,” she said. “So let’s just get it over with. What did you want to talk to me about?”

“We’ve been thinking,” Kanan started.

“And we’ve decided,” Mari chimed in.

“You need a girlfriend.” As both Kanan and Mari said that in unison Dia’s stoic face dropped, if only for a moment, as she looked back and forth between her friends.

“No,” she said firmly. “We’ve been over this before.”

“Maybe so,” Mari agreed. “But things have changed since then.”

“They’ve changed quite a bit, you’re right,” Dia insisted. “I’ve gotten even _ more _ busy and have even _ less _free time than the last time we talked about this. The last thing I need right now is a relationship.”

“You know this is coming from a place of love, Dia,” Kanan said. “You’ve been wearing yourself way too thin lately. You need someone to help you cut loose and unwind a little bit.”

“That’s what I have you two for,” Dia replied.

“Oh?” Mari asked, suddenly perking up. “Are you finally saying yes to our proposi-”

“_Not _what I meant.”

“You know we love you, Dia,” Kanan said, tossing an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “But friends and relationships are two different things and you know it. Isn’t there a part of you that kinda wants this too?” she asked. “You’ve been single since high school, you know. Isn’t there ever a piece of you that misses being in a relationship? That feels lonely?”

“I haven’t felt anything in years and I don’t intend to start now. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Dia said, starting to push herself back up from the couch. “I have to-”

“She’s trying to run away! Grab her, Kanan!”

“Sorry, Dia!” Kanan said, jumping up alongside Dia and grabbing her friend with her powerful arms. Dia yelped and tried to squirm free, though that was wasted effort against Kanan, and immediately after Kanan pivoted and dunked Dia back onto the couch, slamming her into the cushions.

“What are you-!” Dia started to protest, only for Kanan to jump on top of her and pin her to the couch before she could try to get back up, knocking some of the wind out of her in the process.

“This is for your own good Dia!” Mari promised, jumping on top of Kanan for good measure. She didn’t have the strength Kanan had, sure, but any extra weight was still an added bonus.

“Get off of me!” Dia grunted out, still trying in vain to squirm her way out from underneath the dogpile.

“We’ll let you go when you agree to listen to us!” Kanan replied.

“Let us set you up on one date!” Mari added. “That’s all we’re asking!”

“Did I come in at a bad time?” As that new voice cut into the room all three of them froze in place, before slowly looking towards the door, where a very confused, slightly concerned looking Yoshiko was now standing. Another beat passed, before Mari spoke up.

“Oh, don’t mind us,” she said. “Your show’s starting soon, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Kanan agreed. “You should probably get in there.”

“...Right.” In silence Yoshiko then started to walk across the room, keeping her eyes on Mari and Kanan and Dia all the while as the three of them stared back at her. The awkward stillness lasted until she reached the door, still staring at them until the moment it was closed and she was blocked from view, at which point Kanan was immediately back on Dia.

“One date or you’re stuck here forever!”

“I have classes to get to!”

“Then I guess you’re gonna miss them!” Mari sang out.

“Get off of me!”

“Then agree to the date!” Kanan insisted.

“Fine!” Dia finally snapped. “I’ll let you set me up on _ one _ date, if only so that you’ll see how ridiculous all of this is! Are you happy??” Kanan and Mari both seemed satisfied with that answer, looking at each other and grinning before they finally slid off of Dia and unpinned her from the couch. Dia sat herself back up straight with an irritated huff, shooting a sideways glance at each of her so-called “friends” and trying to fix her messied hair before standing up.

“We promise you’re not gonna regret this, Dia,” Kanan said, though Dia already seemed skeptical of that.

“If you’re done _ physically assaulting me _,” she chided, “I need to be on my way. Please do your best not to infest this couch any more than you already have.”

“No promises!” Mari replied. Dia shot her one more glare before gathering her belongings off the table and making for the doorway. Mari and Kanan stayed leaned back on the couch as she left, and it was only once she was out of view that Mari slid over towards Kanan again. “Wanna make out some more?”

“And if Yoshiko-chan comes back out?”

“Let her watch,” Mari replied, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s the closest that virgin will ever come to getting any.”

“You’re terrible.”

“You love it.”


	3. Chapter 3

You’s vision was starting to get blurry, which was a clear enough sign that she probably should have been _ finally _ getting to sleep. It had been about a day since she had talked with Chika, and had it not been for the fact that she actually had something she needed to do right now she would have gone back to her dorm room and passed out a while ago. As it was, though, she was back at the radio station again, laying across the couch with her head in Ruby’s lap, getting lightly slapped across the face every time she started to doze off. Kanan was sitting across the room in her chair outside the booth as usual, and Mari was behind the microphone, wrapping up a show full of Euro disco and Italo dance.

“Right, right, I get that part,” You was saying, peering up at Ruby from her spot in her girlfriend’s lap. “I’m just saying assume for a second the skateboard _ wouldn’t _ burn up on re-entry-”

“And take you with it,” Ruby reminded her.

“Yeah, but _ ignoring _ both those things, if the curve of the half-pipe was _ gradual _enough-”

“How would you even come back down?” Kanan asked. “Once you get into space you’d just float up there.”

“You guys are no fun,” You huffed, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. Ruby simply giggled at her in response to that, reaching down and combing her fingers through You’s hair while You glared up at her in response.

“You’re cute when you make your angry faces like that,” Ruby said, which only caused You’s face to become even angrier, and her to become even cuter as a result.

“You’re lucky I’m too tired to come up there and-” she started to say, though she was interrupted mid-sentence by the door to the recording booth flying open, and by Mari standing there behind it with her leg raised up high, having very clearly just kicked it.

“Hellooooooooo everyone!” she loudly called out to the room.

“I told you to stop kicking the door,” Kanan murmured.

“You’ve told me a lot of things, Kanan-chan!” she replied. “You can’t really expect me to keep all of them up in my brain. I have to clear up memory for studying instead!”

“You never study. You’re only here because your daddy owns this school.”

“That’s right! So be nice to me or I’ll have him expel you!” Mari hummed, twirling around and dropping down into Kanan’s lap, much to Kanan’s apparent chagrin. After landing there, though, and after Kanan reluctantly wrapped her arms around Mari to make sure she didn’t go sliding off, Mari looked across the room towards You and Ruby, face lighting up when she saw them there. “You-chan! Just the person I wanted to see!”

“I’m assuming from the sound of your voice that’s Mari-senpai,” You replied. “But I haven’t slept in seventy-one hours, and right now you kind of just look like the girl from all those subway posters.”

“The one in the ‘don’t push people onto the tracks’ PSAs?” Kanan asked.

“Yeah, her.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment!” Mari said. “She’s very attractive, and her boobs are _ enormous_. But alas, it’s just normal old me. How did your mission go yesterday, You-chan?” At that point You raised a hand to flash a thumbs up in her vague approximation of whatever direction Mari was sitting in, before finally sucking in her breath and forcing herself to sit up straight, ending up in the spot on the couch next to Ruby. Ruby scooted a little bit closer at that point, and although her leaning up against You seemed like just another display of coupley PDA, it was actually a vitally important act of bracing to make sure You didn’t go teetering right back down.

“I got Chika-chan on board, easy peasy,” she answered. “Had to lie to her just a little bit about how kinky Dia is but I figure that’s like, third or fourth date stuff anyway so we’ve got a bit of a buffer zone for you guys to get Dia really interested in BDSM or feet or something.”

“Excellent!” Mari replied, clapping her hands together. “I’ll have her into BDSM in no time!”

“And I’ll cover feet,” Kanan added.

“And I’m quite happy to report,” Mari continued, “that we managed to persuade Dia quite well, using rational arguments and well-reasoned debate.”

“And I sat on her.”

“So now,” Mari concluded, “we’ve just got to set up the specifics of their date!”

“I’ve got Chika-chan’s whole class schedule basically memorized,” You said. “And I know she doesn’t do shit on weekends aside from blast music and write fanmail so she should be free whenever.”

“That’s good,” Mari replied. “Because Dia can be a bit more… Difficult. I know she’s got a show here over the weekend, and between that and shogi club and student government and her mentorship meetings with Ayase-senpai she doesn’t exactly have much free time. We might be able to open up part of her Saturday night if we could get someone else to take over her hosting block, but that would still leave a student government meeting on her plate…”

“Leave it to me,” Kanan chimed in. “I’ll start a fire in the student gov building and they’ll have to cancel the meeting, Dia will be in the clear.”

“Are- Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ruby asked. “Isn’t that… Arson?”

“Relax,” Kanan assured her. “It’ll be a small fire. Super contained.”

“That doesn’t make it not arson.”

“I like this plan,” Mari hummed, nodding along to Kanan’s casual feloniousness. “So once we’ve got Dia’s schedule cleared up, we just have to plan the perfect date for these two fresh new lovebirds! Should be easy, right? Let me hear some ideas!”

“Dinner and a movie’s always a safe bet,” You said, though Ruby was quick to shake her head at that suggestion.

“Onee-chan’s really picky about her movies,” she said. “Unless it’s a foreign art film or a period drama she’s probably gonna complain the whole time.”

“That’s true,” Kanan agreed. “Last year we went and saw that Toy Story movie together and she called it ‘asinine bullshit’ and ‘the deranged scrawlings of an overgrown child who’s inanity is only amplified by the soulless necromancy of computers’ before walking out of the theater halfway through.”

“You remember that?” You asked. “Word for word?”

“She made the kid behind us cry. Stuff like that really sticks in your mind.”

“Alright, so not a movie,” Mari said, nodding along. “Dinner could still be good, though. Ruby-chan! What restaurants does your sister like?”

“There’s a grill downtown with really good wagyu beef where we’ve gone a few times!”

“Alright,” You cut in. “But now remember that Chika-chan is poor. AND,” she added on, cutting off Mari, who had raised a finger to interject, “even if Dia-san pays you still can’t take Chika-chan anywhere nice because she _ will _ get you kicked out.”

“A compelling point,” Mari murmured, retracting her finger. “Alright then! Dia’s been so uptight lately it would probably do her some good to go somewhere less fancy anyway. Somewhere where she can slum it with a nice _ coq au vin _ or a simple _ piperade_.”

“_That’s _your definition of slumming it?” Kanan asked, shooting a sideways glare at Mari.

“What about sushi?” You asked, desperately trying to pull them back on track. “They opened up one of those conveyor-belt places a few blocks from here recently. I went there with Maru-chan last week and we crushed _ way _too much. Could barely walk home afterwards.”

“That sounds like Maru-chan alright,” Ruby agreed, nodding along. “Onee-chan likes sushi though! I think she’d be okay with that!”

“Excellent!” Mari sang out, clapping her hands together. “Now we just need an ‘and.’ Dinner and a movie, dinner and a walk in the park, dinner and a museum.”

“Dinner and a play,” Ruby suggested.

“Dinner and an antique store,” Kanan added on.

“Dinner and I let Chika-chan know I’ll be out of the room all night so they can go back there and bone down,” You said, causing Ruby to puff her cheeks out in annoyance.

“While I _ do _like the way you’re thinking,” Mari said, looking towards You, “we’re probably getting a little bit ahead of ourselves with that one. Let’s put our brains together: What’s something that’s enough to keep Dia intrigued while not also boring poor Chika-san out of her mind?” As Mari posed the question the room went quiet for a moment, all of them taking a few seconds to consider that question before, with a sudden look of realization coming over her face, You raised her hand up a bit.

“I mean… Idols?”

“Idols?” Kanan repeated.

“Yeah. They’re both really shamelessly aggressively into idols, right? It’s probably too short notice to get them tickets to a concert or anything, but-”

“Spoken like a true poor person, You-chan!” Mari interrupted. “It’s never too late for anything as long as you have enough money to bribe the right people.”

“Are you offering to get them tickets?” You asked, causing another gasp of feigned offense from Mari.

“Don’t sound so surprised by that!” she replied. “You should know full well there’s no amount of money in the world I wouldn’t spend on my darling friends, and doubly so if it will finally get Dia laid! Why, I would have hired her a classy prostitute months ago if she hadn’t punched me in the stomach at the very suggestion of it.”

“I’m also gonna punch you if you ever try to do that,” Ruby warned, bringing both her fists up in front of her. And anyone who had ever been unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one of Ruby’s punches would know that, despite her stature, she could hit _ hard_. It was like all the strength of a normal person, condensed into a fist half the size, and it _ hurt_.

“Well fortunately, that’s not what I’m suggesting,” Mari replied. “Consider those concert tickets taken care of!”

“And you’re sure you can do this?” Kanan chimed in. “This isn’t gonna be one of those situations where you insist something will be totally easy for you and then you drop the ball and you don’t follow through?”

“It most certainly won’t!” Mari replied, with a level of confidence Kanan couldn’t help but be skeptical of. “So we’ve got everything taken care of, right? I’ll handle the concert tickets, Ruby-chan can call and get them dinner reservations, Kanan will make sure the student government meeting doesn’t happen, and You-chan will be sure to vacate the room before they get back! We all have a part to play!”

“Well shit,” You said. “This honestly went a lot better than I thought it would.”

“That’s the power of teamwork and positive thinking!” Mari hummed, before jumping up from her spot on Kanan’s lap, putting her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out into a triumphant pose. “Meeting adjourned!” After making that announcement Mari stood still for another moment, still holding her victorious posture, though everyone else around her remained as they were, simply staring back at her with blank expressions. When she realized nobody else was reacting Mari’s expression and posture both eventually fell, face turning to a frown. “You’re not adjourning.”

“I’m way too tired to stand up,” You replied. “I’m just gonna pass out here.”

“And I have to make sure You-chan doesn’t die in her sleep,” Ruby added on.

“And my tech shift’s not over until after Maru-chan’s show,” Kanan concluded.

“You three are the worst,” Mari huffed, shooting a glare around the room at all three of them before swinging around on her feels, marching her way towards the door. “If anyone needs me I’ll be hanging out with my _ cooler _friends, who adjourn when I tell them too!”

“Alright babe,” Kanan called out after her, reaching down towards the magazine at her feet, grabbing it to start reading again. Just as she sat back up, though, she saw You staring at her from across the room, an amused grin on her face. “What’s that for?” she asked.

“I thought you said you and Mari-senpai aren’t actually dating,” You teased.

“It was a platonic babe,” Kanan replied, opening up her magazine and starting to read. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright,” You snickered. “Whatever you say.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you covering your eyes?”

“Yes, Chika-chan, I’m covering my eyes.”

“Alright! Give me just a second!” You sat there on the edge of her bed with her eyes obscured, secretly rolling them over the fact that Chika still made her look away every single time she wanted to get changed. She could hear rustling and shuffling in front of her while she waited, the sound of Chika moving back and forth and putting her outfit together, and a minute or two passed before she finally heard Chika calling out to her again. “Okay! Open them!”

As You pulled her hands away she saw Chika standing there in front of her, wearing the date outfit she’d spent so much time obsessing over for this evening (with quite a bit of help from You herself, of course). It was a nice outfit, just a little bit more formal than something Chika probably would have worn in her day to day, though it wasn’t actually formal in any real sense of the word. A nice off-white button up shirt for the top, just a little bit baggy and loose-fitting, tucked into a brand new pair of shorts they’d gone shopping for the day before, with a nice stylish woven belt around the waist. It was a look that screamed “I’m gay and also a top,” and You knew at least one of those things was true.

“Looking good!” You said as she laid eyes on the outfit, flashing Chika two thumbs up. After another moment, though, letting her eyes look Chika up and down once over, You scooted forward and hopped off the edge of the bed. “Although…” she continued, walking over to her roommate until she was close enough to reach out and take the top button of Chika’s shirt, starting to tease it loose. “It wouldn’t hurt to show a little more-”

“You-chan!” Chika huffed, scowling back at her roommate as she swatted her hands away. “I’m trying to come across as a _ classy _ lady!”

“There’s nothing classy about that underwear.”

“You said you weren’t looking!”

“I said I was covering my eyes. I never said I wasn’t peeking. Anyway,” You continued, backing off from her roommate with a grin. “You look good. You sure you won’t let me do your makeup?”

“I never wear makeup,” Chika insisted. “I wanna look authentic tonight.”

“Nobody tries to look authentic on a first date,” You replied. “You’ve gotta look like a way better version of yourself so that way Dia-san’s already locked into a relationship with you by the time she realizes what she’s signed up for.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Chika huffed, puffing her cheeks out and twisting her face down into a scowl. After another moment, though, her hands started to fidget nervously with the ruffle of her shirt around where it was tucked into her belt, and Chika looked down towards the floor, balling up and releasing her grip a few times over. “Are you sure all of this is even a good idea, You-chan?”

“Honestly? No. I’m still not sure where Mari-senpai got those concert tickets but the way she talked about it it sounded an _ awful _ lot like her contact was in the yakuza so-”

“I mean all of this, You-chan!” Chika interrupted. “The date as a whole! Just… Me going out with anyone right now.”

“Eh? Are we still going through all of this?” You asked. “I thought we were past this part.”

“It’s not that easy!” Chika insisted. “I mean, when you said you could get me a date with_the _Dia Kurosawa I got really excited about it at first, and I was riding on that high for a little while! But now that it’s actually getting close and I’m having to think more about it and everything-”

“Then don’t go.” That reaction actually surprised Chika, and she raised her head to see You standing there staring back at her with a blank expression, leaning against her bed, arms up behind her head. Chika was half expecting her to say something else at that point, though when You didn’t she spoke up again.

“You’re just telling me not to go?” she asked.

“I’m not telling you to do anything,” You replied. “Because I know that would be pointless. You’re one of the most stubborn bitches I’ve ever met in my entire life and nothing I say is gonna have an effect on you either way at this point. Don’t go if you don’t want to. If you think you’re gonna be able to stay in tonight without beating yourself up over missing out on an opportunity to go on a date with a girl you’ve been pining after for months then by all means, be my guest. I won't stop you.” After You said that another moment of silence passed between them, before Chika twisted her face back into a scowl, letting out an irritated huff under her breath.

“Just because you’re right all the time doesn’t mean you have to be so smug about,” she muttered.

“Sorry, but you knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to be my best friend,” You replied, pushing herself up from her bed again and marching her way over towards Chika. Once she was standing close she pivoted around on her heels so they were facing the same direction again, before tossing an arm around her roommate’s shoulder and pulling her in close, irritated as Chika might have still looked with her. “You’re gonna have a great time out there tonight, alright?” she promised.

“You don’t know that,” Chika muttered back. “What if the date sucks? What if it goes terribly? What if I say something stupid, or make a fool of myself, or Dia-san doesn’t like me?”

“Chika-chan,” You replied. “As someone who’s known you for the better part of two decades now, I can say with absolute confidence that you _will _say something stupid, and you _will _make a fool of yourself. And you know what? That’s exactly the kind of person Dia-san needs in her life right now. She’s got a stick up her ass the size of a whole damn tree and she needs someone who’s gonna take all that stress off and let her just relax for a single night. Trust me, she’s gonna love you.”

“Alright…” Chika murmured, still only sounding half-convinced. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m positive,” You insisted. “You guys are gonna have a great time, and you’re gonna fall in love, and then you and Dia-san will get married and I’ll marry Ruby and the two of us will finally legally be sisters. And remember, I’m gonna stay with Ruby and Maru-chan tonight, so if things go really well this room will be _ totally _ empty, all night long.”

“I’m not gonna put out on the first date!” Chika huffed. “I told you, I’m being _ classy_.”

“Alright prude.” You caught an elbow to the stomach immediately after saying that, causing her to wheeze out sharply, although she felt a little bit better about it thanks to the “Holy _ shit _ your abs are hard” she heard coming from beside her at the same time. That caused her to grin through the pain, standing back up straight after a moment and brushing herself off. “I’m serious, though,” she insisted. “You’re gonna have a great time tonight, or so help me god.”

“That sounds like a threat.”

“It a little bit is.”

“Great,” Chika murmured, looking down at herself one more time before glancing back up at You. “Do you think Dia-san is this nervous right now?”

“Dia Kurosawa, the woman who doesn’t have a single chill bone in her entire body?” You replied. “Trust me. She’s _ way _worse.”

* * *

“...And once again, thank you for joining me tonight. Until next time, I have been Dia Kurosawa, signing off.” As soon as she cut her mic Dia let out a long sigh, sliding her headphones off before reaching up to rub her bleary eyes. It had been a long day, one that once again hadn’t been punctuated by nearly as much sleep as it should have been. Exhausted as she might have already been, though, Dia knew it wasn’t like she was going to be able to go back to her room and relax. Tonight was “The Big Night,” as Mari and Kanan had been putting it. Still, Dia thought to herself as she got up and made her way out of the recording booth, she had a little bit of time before she needed to get ready, so maybe she would at least be able to squeeze in a quick nap before-

“Diaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” So much for that idea. No sooner had Dia opened the door to the booth than she was accosted by Mari, who had apparently been lurking in wait on the other side of the door, ready to pounce on her the moment she came walking out. Dia was knocked to the side a bit as Mari latched onto her, immediately causing her to grit her teeth while she tried to shake her parasite loose.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “You don’t have a show tonight.”

“Why, I came to check on my best friend in the entire world, of course!” Mari replied, before Kanan spoke up as well from her spot on the couch across the room.

“And then she decided to say hi to you too. Now c’mon. You had to know this was gonna happen.” As Kanan spoke Dia’s eyes were drawn to her, and she stared at her in blank, unregistering silence for a few seconds before her gaze eventually shifted over to the enormous, ostentatiously pink makeup bag sitting on the couch next to her, with the initials “MO” very clearly monogrammed onto the front.

“_No _,” Dia said, immediately setting about trying to shake Mari loose even more firmly. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh come _ on_, Dia,” Mari insisted. “You _have_ to let us help you get ready. This is like the quintessential scene from every teen movie ever: the main character’s best friends helping her prepare for the most important date of her life! Montage of makeup and clothing! Peppy upbeat pop songs playing over it!”

“We’re not teenagers.”

“Yes, but you were too much of a prude to go on dates in high school so this is your penance.”

“You didn’t even _ know _ me in high school,” Dia insisted.

“But am I wrong?” Dia didn’t have a response to that, and all she could do was continue to struggle as Mari dragged her over towards the couch, albeit more feebly than before.

“Look on the bright side,” Kanan said, scooting over and pulling the makeup bag up onto her lap to make room for the two of them. “At least I’m here to make sure Mari doesn’t go too wild with it. You know I’ve never touched a tube of lipstick in my life.”

“Forced-femming notwithstanding,” Mari added, which Dia frankly didn’t know how to respond to.

“If that’s the same lipstick-”

“Relaaaax,” Mari said, reaching across Dia to grab her makeup case from Kanan. “It’s a fresh tube. Unless you _ want _me to use that lipstick.”

“I do not.” Dia glared back at Mari as she said that, though Mari merely returned the look with a somber smile and a long, wistful sigh.

“You know, this is starting to feel like the end of an era,” she said. “As much as I’ve always dreamed of the day you would finally say yes to our many, _ many _ offers, I think it’s finally time for me to accept that it won’t happen and move on.”

“_This _is what finally made you realize?”

“You’re a chained woman now,” Mari continued. “You belong to Chika-chan, and while I condone a good many things that simpler-minded folk might call ‘unethical’ or ‘illegal’ or ‘grounds for a lifetime ban from the Tokyo Aquarium’ I would _ never _ condone infidelity. _ Unless_…” she suddenly added.

“You think Chika-chan swings?” Kanan asked.

“Only one way to find out!”

“_Please_,” Dia groaned. “Just get this over with.”

“Alright, alright,” Mari laughed back, finally cracking open her makeup case so she could begin to rifle through the various bottles and tubes and assorted other containers packed within. “Now hold still!” she instructed. “The last thing you want is for me to make you look like a clown right before your big date.”

“I have a feeling that’s inevi-” Dia started to say, though she was cut off halfway through as Mari shoved a pad of foundation into her face.

“You know,” Kanan said, scooting up from behind Dia to get a little closer to her. “The more you act like this whole thing is a chore the more it’s gonna feel like one.” Dia did her best to shoot a sideways glance at Kanan while her friend spoke, though she was also diligently, if not somewhat indignantly, following Mari’s instruction to not move, and so she kept her head in place the entire time. “I mean,” Kanan went on, “when was the last time you actually just had a night off to go out and have some fun? No clubs, no radio station work, no student council work, no classwork, no nothing. No responsibilities. Just a night to _ relax_, and have a good time.”

“Oh, don’t be so hard on her,” Mari replied, speaking up while Dia couldn’t. “Kindergarten wasn’t _ that _ long ago, after all. But I do agree that it will be good for you to finally have a night to yourself,” she continued, turning her attention back to Dia. “I mean- To yourself and the lucky miss Chika, of course. And remember, You-chan said she would be out of the room, so if things go well-”

“I’m not sleeping with someone on the first date,” Dia chided, interrupting Mari’s attempts to doll her up as she spoke. “And seeing as how I don’t imagine there will be any dates beyond this-”

“You’re _ still _going on about that,” Kanan cut in, glaring at Dia to silence her. Dia did her best to look over at her, though the moment she tried to move her head Mari grabbed hold of it to keep her in place, ensuring Dia wasn’t successful in that endeavor.

“Going on about what?” Dia replied, barely able to see Kanan out of the edge of her vision. “I was perfectly upfront from the very beginning that I simply don’t have time to seriously date someone right now.”

“Then why bother!” Kanan insisted. “Why even bother going out on this date in the first place if you’ve already made up your mind that there’s not gonna be a second one? If you’re just gonna stand Chika-chan up after this and not even make the effort to take a relationship somewhere no matter how well this night goes?”

“You didn’t give me a choice,” Dia reminded her. “You _ sat _ on me.”

“For your own good. And I’m just about ready to sit on you again if this is how you’re gonna act.”

“She’s right, you know,” Mari hummed in agreement, finally putting the foundation back into her makeup bag and fishing out an eyeshadow palette to replace it. “If you go through life thinking every door is already closed you’ll miss out on plenty of wonderful opportunities.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Dia replied. “All it takes is one phone call to your father and he’ll buy you plane tickets to Italy or Germany or wherever else you want to visit. Opportunities come easy to you.”

“Spoken like you’re not a trust fund kid too,” Kanan muttered, which Dia chose to ignore.

“You do have a point there,” Mari conceded, “but not every vacation abroad is as glamorous as you might be imagining. Why, just last summer my family wanted to go to _ Canada _ of all places. Can you imagine that? You’re going to fly a third of the way around the world just to visit a country like _ Canada_? I was disappointed by that, of course, and I was moping the whole time we were getting ready for the trip. But eventually I decided, no more! Maybe Canada isn’t the most flashy, exciting country in the world, but I made up my mind that I was going to have a good time no matter what happened! I was going to enjoy my vacation to the fullest! And do you know what happened?”

“What,” Dia and Kanan both asked in simultaneous, uninterested monotone.

“I had an excellent time regardless! I kept my mind open to the new opportunity, and I had an excellent international vacation as a result! That’s the power of positive thinking.”

“That story really isn’t as inspiring as you think it is,” Dia muttered.

“What Mari’s _ trying _to say, in her weird, boujee way,” Kanan explained, “is that if you make up your mind ahead of time that something’s gonna suck then it’s obviously gonna suck. But if you let yourself think you might have a good time then, surprise surprise, you might actually do it.” Dia tried to give Kanan another small glare before her face was pulled forward again, so that Mari could begin to jab at her eyes with the brush she was using to apply a generous coating of eyeshadow.

“How am I supposed to- ow,” Dia grunted out, flinching away from Mari’s somewhat less than delicate touch. “How am I supposed to look forward to what’s going to happen tonight when you still haven’t even told me what sort of date you set up for the two of us?” When Dia said that Mari pulled away from her, looking startled for a moment before a delighted expression crossed over her face.

“Oh, have I not mentioned that yet?” she hummed, before dropping her eyeshadow brush so she could start rapping her hands against her thighs, giving herself a little drumroll. “Well in that case prepare yourself for the best night you’ll ever have, because your best friend Mari Ohara has acquired…” she said, before reaching down the front of her shirt and pulling several stubs of paper from between her cleavage. “Ta-da! Six tickets to the A-RISE concert downtown tonight!”

“That’s- You- How did you-” Dia stammered out, her expression suddenly going awestruck as she stared down at the tickets in Mari’s hand. So awestruck, in fact, that it took her an extra few seconds to fully process what Mari had said. “That’s- Wait. Six?”

“Hm?”

“You said six tickets.”

“Did I?”

“You’re _ holding _six tickets.”

“No I’m not,” Mari replied, hastily slipping four of the tickets behind her back before shoving the other two directly towards Dia. “Now take these two tickets, which are the only two I bought, and go join Chika-chan on the night of your dreams! And her dreams! Dreams all around!”

“I gotta admit,” Kanan said, “I’m actually kinda impressed. I didn’t think you’d pull through on this one.”

“And I didn’t think you’d pull through on the arson!” Mari replied. “But here we both are!”

“_Arson _?” Dia repeated, only for Mari to shove a finger to her lips.

“Shhhh shh shh! What’s that old saying about gift horses and mouths?”

“Don’t look a-”

“Oh, that's right!" she said. "It's '_Don’t fucking question Mari Ohara _ .'” Dia had no shortage of objections to just about everything that had just been said, though half her mind was also distracted by the tickets as well, eyes finding themselves pulled back down towards them. She studied them carefully for a moment, as if she didn’t believe they were real- and, to be fair, the odds that Mari knew a scalper and the odds that Mari knew a counterfeiter were about equal. After another moment of staring down at them, though, Mari leaned in closer, pushing herself into Dia’s line of sight. “So what do you say _ now_, Dia?” she asked. “Are you a little more willing to believe tonight might be a good night after all?”

“I… _ Suppose _it’s possible that this might end up being a good night after all,” Dia admitted.

“You’re about to see your favorite idol group in the entire world in concert and you’re going to get to do it with a wonderfully cute girl,” Mari replied. “This is going to be better than just a good night. This is going to be the best night of your sad little life!”

“If you’re trying to motivate me calling my life sad isn’t a good way to do it,” Dia muttered, though Mari was already leaning back in with the makeup brush now.

“Shut up and hold still!” she instructed. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do!” And Dia had no choice but to comply.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as y'all may have noticed this fic was quiet for a while and part of the reason was because I knew I was coming up on a big chunky chapter that was gonna take forever to write and post. To make things more manageable and hopefully less intimidating for myself I've split it up into a few smaller chapters so if you've been watching with eagle eyes and noticed the chapter count go up that's why. Hopefully I'll be able to keep a more consistent posting schedule throughout the rest of this! Hopefully!

Dia was nervous. She wouldn’t _ admit _ that she was nervous, of course. She had been quite adamant about how much she didn’t even care about this stupid date in the first place, and how she had only agreed to it to get Kanan and Mari off her back. Admitting that she was nervous would be admitting that _ maybe_, _ perhaps_, there was some _ small _part of her that was actually starting to entertain the concept that not being single wouldn’t be as bad as she had made it out to be. Maybe having someone who would be obligated to put up with her bullshit wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Maybe.

Either way, as Dia waited outside the restaurant where she was supposed to be meeting her date (by the way, conveyor-belt sushi? Real fucking classy on that one), her body language betrayed just how uptight she really was- even more than usual. Her back was stiff and her shoulders were higher than they should have been, and she was wringing her hands together nervously in front of her, worrying away at the inside of her lip. The part of her brain that insisted this might not be a bad idea was at war with the part of her brain that was telling her it still wasn’t too late to turn tail and run, and if she had been left there just a little bit longer the part telling her to run might have won out. Fortunately, she wasn’t given the opportunity.

“Dia-san?” a voice called out to her, and Dia looked straight ahead to see a girl approaching her. She had never actually met Chika in person before, and as a result she couldn’t be positive that she was looking at the right person. This _ seemed _like it was probably Chika, though. She matched the description Dia had been given: about Dia’s same age, shoulder-length orange hair, red eyes. She was dressed nicely as well, looking like she very realistically could have been dressed for a date. And as she bounced forward and gave an enthusiastic wave, she certainly seemed to have that trademark energy You had warned her about as well.

“Takami-san, I presume,” Dia replied, looking Chika up and down once over before giving a slow, stern nod. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I can’t believe I’m standing in front of _ the _DJ Dia Kurosawa!” Chika said. “You’re way hotter than I thought you’d be!” Upon hearing that Dia merely stared back at Chika blankly for a moment, before beginning to walk away.

“Right then. Good effort. I’ll tell them I tried.” Before she could make it far at all, though, Chika was bouncing forward, tossing an arm around Dia’s shoulders to pull her back in.

“Wait! Wait wait wait! You’re not leaving already, are you?” Chika asked, and as Dia looked back over she saw Chika leaning in close to her, mustering up the best pouty face that she could.

“I am if you’re going to continue to talk like that,” Dia replied.

“Okay, okay,” Chika said, her face suddenly becoming surprisingly stern and serious. “Best behavior. You-chan warned me about this. ‘That Dia-san, she’s got a stick up her ass the size of a tree,’” Chika mocked, before the look on her face suggested that probably wasn’t something she should have said either. Laughing sheepishly before Dia had the chance to respond, Chika started to tug her closer to the door. “Come on, let’s go inside! I called ahead and reserved us a table!”

“Ruby-chan said _ she _reserved us a table,” Dia replied.

“Oh shit. I guess we’ve got two tables then! Let’s go!” Despite the concerns she still had about this evening Dia still found herself inclined to go along with Chika’s enthusiasm, if only because playing along seemed far easier than trying to resist her. So, with one more resigned sigh about the night she had apparently just gotten herself into, Dia let Chika drag her into the building. Meanwhile, from behind a nearby bush outside the entrance, three shadowy figures watched on.

“Things look like they’re going pretty well so far, don’t they?” Mari asked, peering out through a tangle of leaves to keep tabs on the lovely couple.

“I dunno about that,” You replied. “Dia-san seemed pretty tense through that whole conversation. Especially when Chika-chan was touching her.”

“She didn’t mace her, though,” Ruby added. “So that’s a good sign.”

“Mace?” You asked.

“Onee-chan always keeps mace in her purse.”

“And so far this has been a wonderfully mace-free evening!” Mari said. “So I think we can consider this a success!”

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” another voice cut in, and the three gathered girls looked over to see Kanan approaching, quickly crouching down alongside them. “What did I miss?”

“Where have you been, Kanan?” Mari huffed. “We’ve all been worried sick about you!”

“I haven’t,” Ruby said.

“Something came up,” Kanan answered. “Those stuco bastards tried to move their meeting to another building. I had to take care of it.”

“You smell an awful lot like kerosene,” You pointed out.

“I sure do.”

“Dia and Chika-chan just went inside,” Mari cut back in, pointing towards the exterior of the restaurant- where, sure enough, they could see Chika and Dia heading towards their table through the restaurant’s windows. “We can’t observe them well from out here, though. We need to get closer.”

“You’re gonna get us caught,” Kanan chided.

“Not if we’re stealthy enough. Let’s go!” Mari declared, before she “stealthily” began running towards the front entrance, staying low to the ground the entire time. Rolling her eyes Kanan started to follow, and Ruby and You were close behind.

Inside Dia and Chika had just reached their table, and as they moved to sit down Dia glanced towards the sushi rotating past their seats on a conveyor-belt, before looking over towards Chika. Chika, meanwhile, seemed like she was utterly captivated by this cutting-edge display of raw fish delivery technology.

“You like sushi, then?” Dia asked.

“Obviously! Who doesn’t like sushi?” Chika replied, sliding into the booth across from Dia.

“A respectable answer.” After saying that, however, Dia realized that she didn’t actually know what to say next. Suddenly it was striking her just how long it had been since she had actually been on a date, and how much her social skills were lacking as a result of the massive focus she had been putting on her classwork and her student government responsibilities. It was embarrassing to realize she’d forgotten how to do something as simple as hold a conversation with a stranger, but apparently she had, and in the end she ended up falling back on a very simple phrase: “So… Tell me a little bit about yourself.” It sounded more like she was interviewing Chika for a job than for the position of girlfriend, but she supposed it would do in a pinch.

“Well!” Chika replied, already snatching some sushi off the conveyor-belt, and paying more attention to that than to Dia as she spoke. “I’m really into idols, just like you are!”

“You-san mentioned that, yes.”

“I’ve gotta admit, though,” Chika went on, “you seem to know way more about them than I do. I’ve never even _ heard _ of half the groups you end up playing on your show.” At that point Dia’s instinct to be judgmental started to kick in, though she did have to admit… she didn’t exactly hate getting to feel like she knew more about this subject than Chika either.

“Well, I have spent quite a bit of time researching the genre,” Dia ended up saying. “If you’re ever looking for recommendations for new music I would be happy to share some with you.”

“Yeah, absolutely!” Chika replied. “Every time I hear something new on your show I hunt down more stuff from the group and its always fantastic! Tell me everything you’ve got!”

Over towards the other side of the restaurant, meanwhile, Dia and Chika’s four stalkers had finally found their own table- far enough away that it wasn’t immediately noticeable, but still in line of sight enough that they were able to keep an eye on Dia and Chika when they wanted to. All four members of their posse had come prepared with hoodies and hats and sunglasses to conceal their identities, of course, and while wearing hoodies and hats and sunglasses inside a restaurant at night was probably actually more conspicuous than just dressing as themselves, it was the choice they had decided to go with.

“Can you hear what they’re saying?” Mari asked.

“They’re on the opposite side of the room and we’re in the middle of a crowded restaurant during the dinner rush,” Kanan replied. “So no.”

“Hang on,” Ruby cut in, leaning further forward across the table with a narrow-eyed, determined look behind her sunglasses. “I’m an expert in reading Onee-chan’s body language. Right now she’s… feeling smugly superior. Her chin’s up, which normally means she’s either confident or tense, but her shoulders are low, which means she’s relaxed. She’s gesturing with her hands while talking, which she only ever does when she’s talking about something she’s passionate about or angry about, but the motions aren’t jerky enough for it to be anger. Also her legs are crossed, which she only ever does in front of someone she’s attracted to.”

“Well that can’t be right,” Mari chided. “Dia crosses her legs in front of me all the time.”

“I know.”

“Damn babe,” You said, tossing an arm around her girlfriend. “You’re really an expert on this. I’m glad we brought you along.”

“I wish you hadn’t,” Ruby replied. “She’s still my sister and this still feels weird.”

“And your sacrifice will not be forgotten, Ruby-chan!” Mari hummed. “So for now keep your eye-a on Dia and tell us what she’s thinking!” And so, reluctantly, Ruby began to do just that.

“...And those are my favorite groups to have come out of the eighties,” Dia was saying, finishing up one particular topic, though not at all out of things to say as a whole. “Moving into the current decade is where things really start to get interesting, though. Come the turn of the nineties a lot of groups were eager to do something new to set themselves apart from others, so that was when we really began to see a lot of experimentation within the space.”

“Wow…” Chika replied, looking at Dia in awe from across the table. Most people probably would have grown bored halfway through Dia’s history lecture, but Chika seemed to be hanging off every word she said. Dia found it kind of flattering, really. “You know so much about this! You’re like, an idol historian or something!”

“Really, it’s nothing that impressive,” Dia scoffed, brushing away the thought. “Although actually, I do host a radio show, so yes, I suppose it’s exactly like that.”

“It’s so cool!” Chika insisted, propping her elbows on the table and resting her face in her hands so she could grin at Dia from over top the enormous stack of sushi plates she’d already amassed while Dia had been speaking. “Suddenly I’m starting to feel like I should change my major! Can you major in idol studies? Is that a thing?”

“It most certainly isn’t.”

“I’m gonna check on Monday.”

“You’re going to be disappointed.”

“Maybe,” Chika agreed. “But if it turns out that idol studies _ is _a thing and you’ve been missing out on it this whole time which one of us is gonna be disappointed then?” Dia didn’t see fit to deign that with a response, and instead she found herself glancing down towards her own pile of plates, which was currently much smaller than Chika’s, thanks to the fact that she had already spent far more time proselytizing about idols than she’d spent eating.

“I feel like I’ve been talking quite a bit,” she confessed. “I asked you about yourself and then ended up being the one to ramble anyway. So… What else do you enjoy besides idols?” she ended up asking. “What do you do in your spare time?”

“Hmmm…” Chika replied, putting a finger against her chin and making a thoughtful expression- far more thoughtful than Dia would have thought necessary for such a simple question, honestly. After a moment Chika did perk up again, though, looking just as excited as she always seemed to be. “Oh! You-chan’s been trying to teach me to skateboard recently, so that’s been fun!”

“Has she?” Dia asked. “How’s that been going?”

“Not great!” Chika replied, grinning far too happily as she rolled her sleeve up to show the enormous abrasion running from her elbow all the way up to her wrist. Dia shuddered as she looked at it, before her eyes narrowed.

“That’s why I refuse to let my sister anywhere near that four-wheeled demon device of hers. If you ever see You-san trying to get Ruby onto a skateboard you’re obligated to stop her.”

“Ooooh, that’s right! I almost forgot You-chan’s dating your sister,” Chika said, before letting out a nervous laugh. “Guess that makes this a little awkward, huh?”

“Why would that make this awkward?” Dia asked.

“Well, you know…” Chika replied, gesturing vaguely to nothing in particular, still laughing uneasily. “Just cause of the whole… Y’know…”

“The what?”

“The like… The whole ‘your sister’s definitely had sex in the room where I sleep every night’ thing.”

“She has _ not_,” Dia hissed, tone suddenly growing severe as her eyes narrowed down again. “Ruby and You-san are _ not _ having sex. Ruby is a _ good girl_.”

“Really? They’re not??” Chika asked, before making another ponderous expression. “I wonder why they always kick me out of the room, then…”

“I’m sure they just want time alone to- to talk about their feelings,” Dia insisted.

“And why does You-chan own a strapon?” Chika added, nearly giving Dia an aneurysm on the spot. “Like a vibrator I get ‘cause you can use that on yourself, but a strapon seems kinda weird…” Dia looked like she was about to pop a vein on her forehead at that point, and even though they couldn’t hear the extremely regrettable things Chika was saying from across the room, this was something that hadn’t escaped the notice of their onlookers either.

“This doesn’t seem good,” Ruby murmured, face scrunching up a she watched her sister from across the room, all the while unaware that she was the subject of their conversation. “I haven’t seen onee-chan look that angry since she caught me standing on You-chan’s skateboard.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that,” You chimed in. “We’d just finished banging like five minutes before. The timing was insane.”

“Well if we want those two to have as much fun as you two clearly did,” Mari said, “we need to do something about this.” Her eyes scanned around the room for a few seconds, surveying her surroundings before an idea popped into her head. “Kanan. How many fires did you start tonight?”

“Two,” Kanan replied. “Unless you’re a cop in which case I started zero and I was with Sarah-chan all night and she’ll corroborate that alabi.”

“You were with Sarah-chan?” Mari gasped, shooting Kanan a glare.

“I just told you I-”

“We will talk about this _ later_,” Mari insisted. “For now, did you pull the alarms at either of those fires?”

“I did not.”

“Well then I think that means you still have two good pulls saved up,” Mari said, subtly gesturing towards the fire alarm in the hallway near the bathrooms. “So get over there and give it a good yank!”

“Just so I can set my expectations accordingly,” Ruby cut in, “how many crimes am I gonna be an accomplice to by the end of this night? Because it seems like a lot more than I was expecting.”

“Get used to it, Ruby-chan,” Kanan said. “This is what adulthood is.” And with that she pushed herself up from the table, glancing back and forth one more time before setting off towards her target.

“Plus that one time I found a bra mixed in with our laundry that I _ know _was way too small for You-chan,” Chika was saying, while Dia was seething across the table from her. “We’re basically the same size and it didn’t fit me so it couldn’t possibly have-” Midway through that sentence, though, Chika was mercifully cut off by a sudden high-pitched screeching that began to pierce through the entire restaurant, immediately commanding the attention of all the other diners present. Chika jumped up in her seat at the sound of it, and Dia did the same, both of them looking up towards the ceiling before looking back at each other.

“Is that a fire alarm??” Chika asked, her voice suddenly sounding far more panicked than was probably called for. “Is there a fire?? Are we gonna die here??”

“They almost certainly just burned something in the kitchen,” Dia replied, before glancing over her shoulder towards the doors, where many of the other patrons were already starting to neatly file out. “Still… We should probably evacuate as well. Just in case.”

“Right!” Chika said, jumping up from the table with, once again, far more speed than was actually necessary. With a roll of her eyes Dia followed suit, reaching up to cover her ears and drown out the incessant, repetitive screeching. Dia and Chika both filed into the crowd as it started to funnel through the doors and onto the street outside, and fortunately neither of them took notice of Mari, Ruby, and You, all also evacuating well ahead of them, nor did they see Kanan bringing up the rear. Soon enough Dia and Chika had both made their way outside, along with the rest of the crowd, and from there they found themselves staring back into the building, listening to the now-muffled sound of the screeching alarms while waiting to see what they were supposed to do next. This went on for a few seconds before Chika leaned over towards Dia, speaking up in a somewhat hushed tone.

“So… How long do we have to wait until we can just leave?”

“Excuse me?” Dia asked, looking back at her.

“I mean, like, I know that _ technically _ it would be dining and dashing, but if we can’t get inside to pay in the first place-”

“_That’s _ what this is about? You don’t want to pay?”

“I ate a lot of sushi!” Chika protested. “More than I can afford, probably! I was actually gonna ask if you could pick up my half of the bill so really, this is a win for you too!”

“You were- Seriously?” Dia groaned, before reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose while letting out an exasperated sigh. “When was the last time you went on a date?”

“Oh, not since my ex broke my heart,” Chika replied. “What about you?” The response caught Dia off guard, and the followup question even more so. As much as she wanted to critique Chika for her lack of first-date etiquette, though, or the degree to which she had just overshared, she supposed Chika did have something of a point there; it wasn’t as if Dia was exactly much of a romance master herself. And their conversation _ had _ been going well, up until the part where she started to let Chika participate in it. Not to mention, it had probably been a good twenty minutes since Dia had thought about her school work. That had to be something of a record for her.

“It’s… Been a while,” Dia admitted, before glancing back and forth at the crowd around them one more time. “We could probably get out of here right now,” she said. “I doubt anyone would notice.”

“Eh? Really??” Chika asked, sounding just a little bit too excited about the prospect.

“Sure, why not. We should probably get headed towards the concert venue anyway.”

“Alright! Dining and dashing!” Chika cheered, earning her a quick hiss from Dia.

“Not so loud!”

“Right!” Chika whispered. “Dining and dashing.”

“Really, just- _ Sarah Kazuno_,” Mari insisted, near the other edge of the crowd. “Her, of all people?”

“Why not her?” Kanan replied. “She’s cool.”

“Are you sleeping with her?”

“We never said we couldn’t sleep with other people.”

“Hey, lovebirds,” You interrupted, gesturing through the crowd towards Dia and Chika- who were now mid-escape in the opposite direction. “In case you hadn’t noticed, they’re on the move again.”

“Right!” Mari said, steeling her expression while Kanan merely rolled her eyes behind her. “Everyone, follow those lesbians!” And with that she started to weave her way through the crowd to chase after Dia and Chika, leaving the rest of her cohort to follow.


	6. Chapter 6

The concert venue was absolutely massive. Dia had been prepared for that, and she had been to plenty of idol concerts before- some of them even at this exact same arena, in fact. This was the first time she had ever ended up there on a date, though, and she already had a feeling this was going to be quite the experience.

Even if she had ended up here by herself, or under more normal circumstances, Dia certainly already would have been freaking out. A-RISE were her favorite idol group of all time, after all, and she would go to bat to make the argument that they were, in fact, the greatest idol group in all of history. Their use of heavier electronic instrumentals, at times even bordering on industrial sounds, offered a bold and inspired deviation from the upbeat, sugary pop instrumentals that characterized most other idol groups, and their smaller three-member roster put a greater importance on the talent of each individual member when compared to a six or nine person group, while also allowing each member’s personality to shine through more clearly and become more well developed, causing fans to feel a stronger connection and bond with each member of the group. Is what Dia would have said, if anyone ever asked. But nobody ever did.

Added onto Dia’s normal fangirling excitement over the fact that she was about to see her favorite group of all time, though, was the additional nervousness she felt from being reminded that she was still very much here on a date. The date hadn’t gotten off to the greatest start, admittedly, and Dia still wasn’t entirely sure just how much chemistry there was to be found between her and Chika in the first place. Surely, Kanan and Mari could have found someone a bit more _ elegant _ and _ classy _ to set her up with instead. That said, Dia couldn’t exactly complain about how Chika let Dia lecture her on the history of A-RISE during the entire walk to the venue.

Speaking of Kanan and Dia, they were continuing to tail Dia and Chika from a safe distance away, still joined by Ruby and You as well. All of them were finding it far easier to blend in with the crowds the closer got to the venue, and by the time they were surrounded by hundreds of other A-RISE fans, many of them carrying large signs and banners, they didn’t have to worry nearly so much about getting spotted out by their marks. They did, however, have to worry about losing them.

“No, no, by all means,” Mari was saying, waving a hand carelessly through the air for dramatic effect. “Run off and sleep with that slut if that’s what will make you happy. Clearly she’s giving you something I can’t.”

“I like having sex with both of you equally,” Kanan replied. “I thought I’d made that clear.”

“Bullshit,” Mari scoffed. “That’s like when Ruby and Dia’s parents say they love both their daughters equally. We all know it’s a lie.”

“It- It is?” Ruby cut in.

“It is. But don’t worry, Ruby-chan. You’re their favorite.”

“Oh. Yay!”

“Well I _ do _ love both my daughters equally,” Kanan insisted. “And I really wish _ daughters _ wasn’t the metaphor you used for my sexual partners.”

“So you _ are _unsatisfied with me,” Mari gasped.

“Hey, dipshits,” You cut in, eyes narrowing as they scanned through the crowd in front of her. “Have either of you seen our targets for the past few minutes? I lost sight of them.”

“Not to worry,” Mari hummed back, turning her eyes to You. “I know what seats they’re in and I made sure our own seats have line of sight. We’ll be able to find them as soon as we get inside.”

“As good as that is,” You replied, “I don’t wanna let them out of my sight for a single second. That’s as much time as it’s gonna take for Chika-chan to fuck this up.”

You, it turned out, was right to be worried. Dia and Chika were filing into the line that was gradually making its way through the stadium’s front entrance, mixing in with the hundreds of other people present while they all slowly shuffled forward, a little bit at a time. As they started to get closer, though, Chika leaned over to peer ahead of the line. In doing so she was able to see the security checkpoints that the line was filing through, and the moment she did her face went pale.

“Psst. Dia-chan,” she hissed.

“Hmm?” Dia replied.

“Dia-chan. We have an emergency.” Immediately upon hearing that, Dia’s eyebrows creased down.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“That security gate up there,” Chika said, gesturing up towards the front of the line. “Do you think they’re gonna, like, search us? Like… Search our pockets and stuff?”

“...I have a bad feeling I already know the answer to this question,” Dia replied, “but why do you seem so concerned about that prospect?” Chika laughed sheepishly at that question, only furthering Dia’s suspicions and concerns.

“Well, you see…” Chika said. “When I was on my way out of the dorm room, just about to go so I could meet you at the restaurant, You-chan gave me this, uh…”

“This what?” Dia asked.

“This, you know…”

“She gave you a _ what_,” Dia repeated.

“We’ll call it a, uh… _ Medicinal herb_.”

“You have a fucking joint.”

“You-chan said I might need it!”

“Why would you possibly need that??” Dia demanded. “Why did you bring that with you?? Have you had it this entire time??”

“You-chan said I should try to get you to smoke it with me! She said you’re a lot more relaxed after you’ve smoked a bit!”

“That is a _ lie_,” Dia seethed. “I have never done drugs in my life and even if I had they would only make me even more uptight because I would know I was committing a _ crime_.”

“You-chan puts hash-oil in your coffee!”

“She _ WHAT? _”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you that but you’re really scary when you raise your voice!”

“I will have _that _conversation with her later,” Dia said, eyebrow twitching down, before she remembered the more pressing issue at hand. She glanced around at her surroundings once, then back towards Chika, looking down towards her pocket. “Give me the joint.”

“Oh, so you do wanna smoke it!”

“I most certainly do _ not_,” Dia corrected. “Just give it to me. Quickly.” Giving her own look around to make sure they weren’t drawing too much attention Chika then reached down into her pocket, pulling out a now very crumpled, beat up, falling apart joint. Dia had expected it to be in a plastic bag or some other sort of protective container, but she should have known that was giving Chika too much credit. Dia snatched the joint away from Chika before looking around herself one more time, and then grabbing the closest person in line next to them. “Hey. Do you want some free drugs?”

“Oh, sure!” Kotori Minami replied. “Thank you!”

“Sincerely, and I mean this very literally,” Dia said, “do not mention it.” She shoved the joint into the stranger’s hand, then turned to look back at Chika. “There. Crisis averted.”

“Wow!” Chika said, seeming far more impressed than she really should have by Dia’s minimal degree of problem-solving. “You’re so quick on your feet!”

“I’ve had plenty of experience,” Dia replied, mind flashing back to the hundreds of similarly-perilous situations Mari and Kanan had put her in over the years. “Now _ please_, just tell me you don’t have any other drugs on you.”

“Nope!” Chika replied, beaming proudly as she shook her head. “Just this knife I found on the sidewalk earlier!”

“_Chika. _”

“Does she do something that I don’t?” Mari was asking, dragging her conversation with Kanan out far longer than either You or Ruby (or Kanan herself, for that matter) cared for. “Is it something piss-related? Because quite frankly I think ‘only on your birthday’ was a _ more _ than reasonable compromise so if that’s the problem then I honestly-”

“That’s not it,” Kanan insisted. “I mean, it is, and she does, but that’s not the point. I don’t understand how this is still such a hang up for you.”

“I just think it’s _ strange _that you’ve never mentioned her before,” Mari scoffed. “How long have you been sleeping with her?”

“I dunno. Six months?”

“Six months??”

“Maybe closer to seven.”

“_Seven _?? And you never once thought to bring this up to me?”

“You never asked.”

“You-chan,” Ruby groaned, repeatedly banging her head against the railing as the line slowly moved forward. “Kill me.”

“Not yet. We’re in this together.”

Dia and Chika at least had managed to make their way through the security gate without being apprehended (and the same could be said for Kotori who, somehow, had blazed the entirety of the joint in the two minutes it had taken her to get to the front of the line and hadn’t left a shred of evidence). Now the prospective couple were making their way through the wide halls that circled the edge of the arena, trying to find the proper section.

“Mari really went all out on these tickets,” Dia murmured, looking down at their seat numbers- and at just how close they would be to the stage. Part of her couldn’t help but wonder how Mari had managed to get these so last-minute, though really, she probably didn’t want to know.

“You think we’re gonna be close enough for them to hear us?” Chika asked, peering down at the seat number alongside Dia. “Like, do you think if I screamed something at Kira-san she would notice me?”

“Over the thousands of other fans who will all surely be screaming alongside you?” Dia asked. “I think that’s unlikely.

“But what if I scream like, _ really _ loud.”

“Given that I’m going to be standing right next to you I would greatly prefer if you didn’t do that.”

“I’m gonna try it.”

“Wonderful.”

As Dia and Chika made their way through the hall and in towards the arena seating they found they had quite a crowd to force their way through, many of the concert's other attendees already piling in to pack the space as full as they possibly could. Dia, fortunately, was a master of the sharp elbow by this point, and had no trouble jabbing and jamming people out of the way so that she and Chika were able to make it through. And while someone else with even the smallest bit of decency might have been horrified to watch Dia stab her way through the crowd in such a manner, Chika simply looked impressed.

Before too much longer the pair were able to make their way to their seats, and now that they were up close it started to register to Dia _ just how close _ they really were to the stage after all. Surely, that was exactly what she needed at the moment: she had already been getting inside her own head and stressing herself out enough over this date. Now that was being compounded the fact that she was about to see her favorite idol group of all time and, furthermore, was close enough to the stage that if she ripped off her bra and threw it forward she would almost certainly be able to hit Tsubasa Kira with it. Not that she was going to. But she could.

But she wouldn’t.

But she could.

“What do you think they’re gonna play tonight?” Chika asked, pulling Dia from her fantasies. As Dia looked over she could see that Chika was wide-eyed as she stared down towards the stage, already bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement. “Oh, ooh! Do you think they’re gonna play any new songs tonight? Do you think we’ll get to be the first people to hear them?”

“I suppose it’s not out of the question,” Dia replied. “Tokyo _ is _their home city, after all, so if they were going to do that anywhere it would make sense for them to do it here. Still, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“Too late!” Dia groaned and rolled her eyes at that, though she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t hopeful as well. And meanwhile, Dia and Chika still had no idea that they were both being spied on from seats just a little bit further up in the stands.

“Looks like they’ve made it to their seats,” You commented, peering down at Dia and Chika, while doing her best to drown out the bickering that was still taking place beside her.

"We tell each other everything," Mari was insisting. "We never keep secrets."

"Not everything," Kanan replied.

"Name one thing you haven't told me other than this."

"I've never told you that I'm part of a knitting group."

"You're _what_?" Mari gasped. "Are you sleeping with any of the people in your knitting group too?"

"No, gross. They're all like, eighty."

"Well for all I know you could be into that, since apparently I _barely even know who you are anymore!_"

“HOPEFULLY THE SHOW WILL START SOON," You said, raising her voice up loud enough to try to silence Kanan and Mari. "And then Chika-chan won’t have any more opportunities to put her foot in her mouth.”

“I just hope onee-chan doesn’t start quizzing her,” Ruby murmured.

“Pop quiz,” Dia said, raising a finger up towards Chika. “Only two of A-RISE’s members are originally from Tokyo. Who’s the third, and where is she from?”

“Oh, oh, I know this one!” Chika replied. “Anju Yuuki! She’s originally from Hokkaido! She moved to Tokyo when she was twelve and met Tsubasa Kira through dance class!”

“That’s… Actually correct,” Dia replied, blinking in surprise a few times over, shocked at the answer. “I’m surprised you knew that.”

“Of course I knew that! I’m like, a huge A-RISE superfan, after all,” Chika insisted. “I read about them in magazines constantly! I’ve seen basically every single interview they’ve ever done! I even own this one doujin of them that I found at this sketchy used book store!”

“...Could I, uh, perhaps borrow that some time?”

“Sure! The pages are a little sticky, though.”

“Sticky from- never mind," Dia interrupted herself. "I don't want to know."

“I’m just _ saying_,” Mari was still going on, “I find it _ strange _ that you’ve been sleeping with her for _ seven months _ and never _ once _thought to mention that to me!”

“Am I suppose to tell you about every single person I sleep with now?” Kanan retorted.

“You mean there’s been more than one?”

“A handful, yeah!”

“Who?” Mari demanded. “Who else have you been fucking?”

“Why does it matter so much? You don’t tell me about the other people you’re boning!” Upon hearing that Mari huffed and turned her nose up, instantly causing Kanan to narrow her eyes with suspicion. “You _ have _been sleeping with other people too, haven’t you?”

“Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t. That’s not really important, is it?”

“You know I never told you not to," Kanan pointed out. "Our whole thing has always been casual. You could have been sleeping with other people if you wanted to.”

“And yet I _ didn’t_, and you _ did_.”

“And that’s my fault somehow?? Sorry that I-"

“ENOUGH!” Ruby finally snapped, spinning around to stare Kanan and Mari down with more anger than it seemed should have been possible to fit in such a small girl. “I’m sick of this! I’m sick of listening to you two argue! I don’t wanna hear anything else about who puts what up whose butt or all the inappropriate places Kanan-chan has peed or how many different ways you can use a fish tank! I’m done! I won’t do it anymore! You two are going to shut up, and you’re going to stop talking about your weird gross sex lives, and you’re going to discuss your feelings like the MATURE, REASONABLE ADULTS you are, or else I’m turning around and leaving right now! And if I have to miss my chance to see my favorite idol group in the entire world because of you two, so help me god, I will _ never forgive you_.” A long silence followed that, and both Kanan and Mari looked more shocked than anything else, taken aback by Ruby’s sudden and uncharacteristic outburst. After a few seconds, though, Kanan did slowly turn her attention sideways towards Mari, before speaking up in a voice that was quiet enough to almost get lost in the crowd.

“I guess… I didn’t realize it would bother you so much that I was sleeping with other people. You always made it sound like you were fine with that.”

“Well… I suppose the only reason I acted that way,” Mari murmured back, “was because I was afraid you would be weirded out if I _ wasn’t _okay with it. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I… I was afraid of ruining what we have by trying to put a label on it.”

“So… Would you _wanna_ put a label on it?” Kanan asked.

“I… I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to that,” Mari replied. “If it’s something you would be comfortable with.”

“I… I wouldn’t be against that,” Kanan replied. “And I’d even stop sleeping with other girls, if it bothers you so much.”

“I would like that,” Mari said. “I would like that a lot, actually.”

“_There _,” Ruby huffed, pivoting away from Kanan and Mari to look back towards the stage. “Was that really so fucking hard?” You watched Kanan and Mari for another moment, meanwhile, before turning back around and sidling up alongside her girlfriend.

“You know, babe,” she said, leaning in close. “It was kinda hot when you started yelling like that.”

“Get the fuck away from me you bottom.”

Further down towards the stage Dia and Chika were having a far more civil time, Dia continuing on with her rapid-fire round of A-RISE trivia while continuing to be impressed by just how many of the answers Chika knew as well.

“What’s Erena Toudou’s blood type?”

“B negative.”

“Anju Yuuki’s bust size?”

“Seventy-six centimeters.”

“Tusbasa Kira’s favorite color?”

“The color of an ocean sunset reflected in Anju’s eyes. Oh my god. Are they dating?”

“Almost certainly.”

“God, I wish that were me.” Yet another thing that Chika probably shouldn’t have said while she was in the middle of a date with Dia, though thankfully she was saved by the fact that Dia felt the same. Dia thought for another moment, trying to come up with another question that she could quiz Chika with, though before she was able to say anything else the lights around the stadium started to dim, and an anticipatory murmur suddenly ran through the crowd, all eyes looking towards the stage at once. Chikia’s own eyes went wide, and suddenly she was leaning as far forward as she could without flat out being in the seat in front of her, practically bouncing up and down with excitement. “Is it starting? Is it starting??”

“It looks like it is,” Dia said, and although she wasn’t wearing her excitement quite as visibly as Chika was, she suddenly felt butterflies swarming around in her own stomach as well. She had been following A-RISE for _ years _ now, and she could still hardly believe that she was _ actually _ about to see them in person, despite the bizarre circumstances that had gotten her there. It was like her wildest dream come true- alright, second wildest. The Eli thing still took the number one spot.

A few more seconds passed after the lights around the stadium dimmed, and the murmurs running through the crowd gradually gave way to silence, everyone on the edges of their seats as they waited for the show to begin. And then, all at once, lights blasted onto the stage to illuminate three figures standing there, and a booming voice echoed through the stadium over massive speakers.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!” Tsubasa Kira called out to her adoring crowd. “WHO’S READY FOR A SHOCKING PARTY?” And the audience went wild.

The concert began in full after that, and unsurprisingly, Chika and Dia weren’t able to talk much while the entire stadium was being blasted with music that was so loud that Dia could barely even hear her own thoughts. That wasn’t a complaint, of course- Dia was absolutely euphoric, all her best attempts to hide her fangirling disappearing the moment A-RISE were _ actually _on stage in her direct line of view. In the privacy of her own dorm room, or of the radio station, Dia would have been embarrassed to ever be caught singing along to any of her favorite songs. But when she was in the middle of a stadium of thousands of other people, all of whom were already doing the same, she allowed herself to indulge. And while Dia was focused mostly on the stage, heart racing a mile a minute with the excitement of an experience that still felt vaguely dreamlike, she at least took occasional moments to glance sideways towards her date as well.

Chika looked like she was just as excited as Dia, although her excitement may have been manifesting a bit more as enthusiasm and a little less as starstruck awe. She was still so far forward that she looked like she might have vaulted the seat in front of her to get closer to the stage at any moment, and she was belting out lyrics to songs just as loudly and passionately as Dia was- she was getting about half of them wrong, sure, but she was clearly trying her best. At one point Dia found herself staring at Chika for an extended few seconds, longer than she had before, and as she did so Dia suddenly found that she couldn’t pull her eyes away. There was something captivating about her- Chika was an idiot, certainly. That much had become clear to Dia over the course of the night. But she was an enthusiastic, passionate, unapologetic idiot, and there was something to be said for that. Underneath it all, Dia realized that maybe she was starting to warm up to her date.

The concert continued on a while longer, A-RISE pumping out upbeat banger after upbeat banger to keep their audience on their feet, jumping up and down, shouting along to the lyrics. Eventually, though, five or six songs in, the lighting on the stage grew dimmer, and the tempo of the electronic beats slowed down as A-RISE started to sing a more calming, more gentle song. A love ballad, with cliche, sappy lyrics that, in Dia’s frank opinion, were actually some of A-RISE’s weaker ones. The song itself was still enjoyable enough, though, and as Dia stole a glance sideways she found Chika already looking back at her, a soft smile on her face, illuminated by the pinkish-reddish lights shining down from the stage.

“What do you say?” Chika asked, reaching her arms out towards Dia. “May I have this dance?” The gesture caught Dia off guard, causing her back to stiffen for a moment, and she was certain she must have been blushing, though fortunately Chika probably wouldn’t be able to see that in the relative darkness. After a moment Dia nodded, stepping close to Chika in turn.

“You may,” she replied. Her own arms reached out as her hands placed themselves delicately at Chika’s hips, while Chika’s arms draped themselves around Dia’s neck. It was a very high school prom way of dancing, swaying slowly in time to the music while they held each other, though it wasn’t as though the packed stadium seating gave them room to do anything else. Besides, Chika didn’t exactly seem like the sort of person who had ever taken ballroom dance lessons. Maybe Dia would have to show her a _ proper _ dance later. But for the time being, she was content with this.

For a minute or so Dia and Chika both said nothing, simply looking back at each other in silence, Chika still wearing that same wide, dopey grin on her face. It was charming, and maybe even relaxing in a way, though at the same time Dia couldn’t help but feel just a little intimidated by the long period of staring. Eventually she felt the need to fill the silence, saying something that had been on her mind for a little while now.

“I… Thank you for putting up with me this evening,” she said. “I know I can be a bit… High-strung. And difficult to deal with. But I-”

“You don’t need to thank me for it,” Chika interrupted. “I’ve been having a good time tonight. In fact, I’m the one who should be thanking you! I know I can be kinda… What’s the word?”

“Brash?” Dia suggested.

“Stupid!" Chika replied. Dia wouldn't have said that herself, though now that it was out there she wasn't going to disagree. "I can be kinda stupid. And loud, and impulsive, and chaotic, and a total handful. And I know that can be a lot for people to put up with. So, thanks for putting up with me, too.”

“Well, for what it’s worth,” Dia replied, “you don’t need to be thanking me either. I’ve had a good time tonight as well.” Upon hearing that Chika’s smile stretched just a bit wider than it already was, and the sight made Dia’s heart skip a beat.

“Can we call this a successful date?” Chika asked.

“I think we can,” Dia replied.

“Good,” Chika said. And then she was pulling Dia down gently by the neck, and lifting herself up onto her toes just enough to close the gap between them so that she could lean forward and press her lips against Dia’s own, and Dia was more content than she ever thought she could be to let that happen.

“FUCK YEAH!” You shouted, slamming her fist onto the seat in front of her with excitement as she watched that sight unfold several rows down.

“FUCK YEAH!” Ruby shouted from beside her.

“We did it!”

“They did it!”

“They did it!” You agreed, grinning from ear to ear as she turned to face her other side, towards Kanan and Mari. “Check it out, guys! They-” she was cut off mid-sentence, though, by the sight of Kanan and Mari already taking full advantage of the slow-song atmosphere to cram their tongues down each other’s throats, hands quickly moving to places that would almost certainly be grounds to get kicked out of the concert if security were to see them at that moment. From beside her You heard a deep sigh, and she looked back over to see Ruby staring at Kanan and Mari as well, wearing an incredibly defeated expression on her face.

“They’re disgusting.”

“You’re the one that encouraged them, babe,” You snickered.

“I didn’t think they would be this bad.”

“They were already gross enough when they _ weren’t _officially dating. It’s only gonna get worse from here.”

“God dammit,” Ruby muttered. You chuckled softly, and then stepped closer to Ruby, slipping a hand around her waist.

“C’mon. No sense in us being the only ones left out, right?” Ruby glanced up at You before, with a small roll of her eyes, reaching up to grab her by the collar of her shirt.

“Yeah. Alright,” she said, pulling her girlfriend down into a kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the concert passed without incident- conversation wasn’t exactly a thing that could be easily had while there was live music blasting at full volume, and from so close to where Dia and Chika had been standing, though with the way their conversations had been going up until that point a moratorium on talking to each other might not have been the worst thing in the world. There were at least a few moments to exchange words in between songs, plenty of opportunities to belt out the lyrics to A-RISE’s greatest hits, and even a few more chances to dance together and make out during the slower numbers as well.

You and Ruby had kept a vigilant eye on Dia and Chika the entire time (because _ somebody _had to, and it sure as shit wasn’t going to be Mari and Kanan anymore), still prepared to jump in with a distraction or an intervention if it proved necessary. Fortunately for them, and for everyone else present, and especially for the six-to-seven-hundred live hornets You had managed to smuggle into the concert venue in a container under her shirt, such a distraction proved not to be necessary.

By the time the concert finally started to wrap up and A-RISE performed their last song Chika was clearly in a good mood, and Dia had gotten… _ emotional _ . If anyone ever tried to claim that she had cried during a live performance of _ Kono gurūpu wa kanon ni 2-kyoku shika nainode (nise no taitoru o tsukuranakereba narimasendeshita) _she would violently deny it. But Chika would know the truth. And Chika of all people having access to that information terrified Dia to the very core of her being.

After the show was finished the audience slowly started to filter their way out of the stadium, and with how many people were present it took quite a while. Dia and Chika resigned themselves to shuffling their way through the massive, slowly moving sea of people, while You and Ruby continued to try to keep an eye on them from up above (after, of course, ripping Kanan and Mari off of each other so they could start to leave as well). Given the sheer volume of people, however, keeping an eye on two people in particular was no easy task, and it was only a matter of time before You ended up losing sight of her targets. By the time they finally made it through the enormous line of people who were all waiting to exit she was looking around in every direction trying to find any sign of them, only to come up blank.

“Anyone got eyes on them?” she asked, glancing over towards her trusty girlfriend, and then towards the pair of far less reliable dipshits behind her.

“Negative,” Kanan replied.

“Well maybe if you had been doing your _ job_, instead of sucking face with Mari-chan,” You chided.

“I’ve committed three different felonies tonight in pursuit of getting these two together,” Kanan bit back. “I don’t wanna hear this from you.”

“It’s alright,” Ruby insisted. “I know onee-chan pretty well. I bet I can think through where they’re going next. They already ate dinner, and onee-chan doesn’t believe in snacks or dessert, so they wouldn’t be going to get food anywhere. They might stop by a pharmacy, though, because she _ definitely _would have cried at least a few times during that concert, so she might want some tissues and a drink to rehydrate. But she also wouldn’t want to-”

“Wait,” Mari interrupted, causing everyone else to look back at her. She had raised a hand to silence Ruby, and she was wearing a gravely serious expression on her face now. “I think, maybe… It’s time for us to step back.”

“You’re saying we just leave them on their own?” Kanan asked. “You really think that’s a good idea?”

“Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t,” Mari replied. “But there comes a time when all proud parents have to let go of their daughter’s hand and let her run on her own.”

“What is it with you and weird daughter metaphors tonight?”

“We’ve done all we can for Dia and Chika-chan at this point,” Mari continued. “We’ve watched over them and kept them safe throughout the many trials of a first date, but now it’s time to let go. They’re on their own from here.”

“I guess you’re right,” You agreed, nodding along, albeit hesitantly. “We can’t be there for them forever. Sooner or later Chika-chan’s gonna have to learn how to talk without putting her foot in her mouth on her own. Not to mention,” she added, placing a hand against Ruby’s shoulder, “I’ve been awake for eighty-four hours now, and I think I’m starting to see colors.”

“Can you not normally-” Ruby started to ask, before shaking her head and dismissing the question. “Are you gonna need me to carry you back to campus?”

“There’s a very good chance of that, yes. Love you babe.”

“I really hope you’re right about this,” Kanan murmured, stealing a sideways glance at Mari. “If we went through all this work just to let those two dumbasses fumble it at the one-yard line…”

“Ooooh, look at me, I’m Kanan Matsuura and I watch American football,” Mari mocked. “Have some faith. Those two are at least a little bit smarter than we give them credit for.”

Out near another one of the stadium’s several entrances Chika and Dia had finally made their way through enough of the crowd to end up outside, and Dia was rather thankful to finally be far enough away from other people to move freely again. She and Chika had been talking a bit on their way out, mostly about safe topics like what they had thought about the show, their favorite songs A-RISE had performed, and the like. Now that they were back outside, however, Dia realized that she didn’t know where they were headed next- they had planned for dinner and a concert, and they hadn’t talked about what they were going to do or where they were going to go once the concert was over. On a first date, that was the sort of topic that had to be handled with tremendous care.

“So where are we headed next?” Chika asked.

Tremendous care.

Dia wasn’t immediately prepared to answer the question, and she found herself stumbling over her response for a few seconds before she was able to come up with anything that resembled an answer. “Well, that, uh- that depends,” Dia replied, risking a brief sideways glance at Chika before she looked out over the street. “This _ is _ the end of the night as we planned it, though given that I presume we’re both headed in the same direction to get back to campus-”

“Aww, I don’t want it to be the end of the night just yet though,” Chika cut in, before Dia felt Chika’s hand reaching over to take hold of her own, immediately causing her cheeks to flush red. Dia looked over again, only to quickly pull her eyes away when she found Chika looking right back at her.

“Well, ah- Is there anything else you would like to do tonight?” Dia asked.

“Hmm… Well, there is _ one _thing.” Oh god.

“I-Is there?” Dia asked.

“Yeah. But… This might be sorta forward to ask on a first date.” _ Oh god oh god oh god. _

“Well, you- you can try.”

“Alright,” Chika replied. “I was wondering, if maybe, when we get back to campus…” _ Ohgodohgodohgodhereitcomes _. “You could show me the radio station?”

...Oh. The radio station. Of course. Chika just wanted to see the radio station. That made sense.

“Well, I, uh… I suppose I could take you on a small tour of it, yes,” Dia said, desperately trying to wrangle her brain back from the completely wrong path it had gone down.

“Really??” Chika asked, squeezing Dia’s hand even more tightly, practically bouncing up and down with excitement next to her. “You can do that for me? That would be okay?”

“Of course,” Dia insisted. “There’s really no strict policy about the station anyway. Anyone can come and go as they please.”

“Yeah, but it’s gonna be so much cooler if I get a tour from _ the _DJ Dia Kurosawa while I’m there! This is gonna be great!”

“Yes,” Dia replied, lips curling up into the faintest hint of a smile from the ego stroking she was receiving. “I suppose it is.”

* * *

It was a bit of a walk to get back to campus, and Dia and Chika filled the time with more idle idol chatter, both about A-RISE and the concert and about their favorite idol groups as a whole. Dia, as always, was more than happy to fill the time preaching the gospel of her favorites, and Chika seemed just as happy to hang off her every word now as she had been before. Soon enough, though, they were making their way back to the familiar buildings and sidewalks of their university, and Dia was leading Chika back towards the tiny little building at the corner of campus where the radio station was tucked away.

At this hour the radio station was practically empty- they did broadcast 24/7 which meant there was always at least someone around, but compared to the morning or afternoon where people were often hanging out on the couches and spending time there even when they didn’t need to be, the little “ON AIR” sign lit up over the recording booth was one of the only indications that anyone else was even around. The speed metal that greeted their ears the moment they entered was the other indication and, based on that, Dia had to assume that someone was Yoshiko.

“This is so cool!” Chika exclaimed, rushing past Dia the moment they were through the front door and running into the middle of the room to get a better look around. “So this is really where you broadcast from, huh? You’re in here all the time?”

“It certainly is,” Dia replied, following Chika towards the center of the room. “I’ve probably spent more time sleeping on that couch than I have in my actual bed.” The moment she’d said it, Dia didn’t know why on Earth she’d thought it was something to brag about. Fortunately Chika didn’t seem bothered.

“That’s awesome! And that’s the recording booth you broadcast from?” she asked, turning her attention towards the small door peeking into the area. “Can we go in?” Normally a question like that would have gotten a firm no from Dia, but…

“Let me see,” she said, walking closer to Chika and peering in through the window that looked into the recording booth. True to her suspicion, Yoshiko was sitting behind the desk at the moment and, judging from the notebook she was scribbling into, she’d queued some songs up and was just letting them play now. It wouldn’t hurt to give Chika a little glimpse behind the scenes right now.

Opening the door Dia let herself into the booth, with Chika right behind her, and the moment they came in Yoshiko bolted upright in her chair, immediately slamming her notebook shut. Dia probably didn’t want to know what was in there.

“Hey, what are you doing in here??” Yoshiko protested. “You’re not supposed to be in here right now! Read the sign!”

“Yohane-sama,” Dia replied, figuring buttering Yoshiko up was the best way to proceed. “This is Chika Takami. She’s… A fan of yours.” The moment Dia said that Yoshiko’s entire demeanor changed, eyes narrowing while a grin spread over her face. She let out a deep, low chuckle, straightening her posture against the back of her chair.

“Well, why didn’t you say so sooner?” she replied, voice much deeper and smoother now. “The fallen angel Yohane is always pleased to meet a fellow practitioner of the dark arts. Tell me, little demon, what fair winds of fortune have blown you here on this most unholy of nights?”

“I have no idea who you are.” _ God dammit_. “Is she always like this, Dia-chan?”

“Regrettably yes,” Dia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation before returning her attention to Yoshiko. “Look, Chika-chan is my date. She wanted to see the inside of the recording booth. I trust that won’t be a problem?”

“Lying is a sin, you know.”

“So is the trash you call music. Get off my dick.” Yoshiko had no response to that and, satisfied that she’d won the conversation, Dia returned her attention to Chika. “Our station’s certainly not the most advanced,” she started to explain, “but we manage to get by. Over here we have the carts we use to play songs,” she said, gesturing to a massive stack of tapes neatly fit into a row of shelves against the wall, most of them labeled with fading stickers and messy handwriting.

“So if I tossed one of these into the tape player I could play any song I wanted?” Chika asked.

“As long as we actually have it here, yes,” Dia replied. “Though Mari’s seen to it that we have just about every strange track you could possibly imagine. Please don’t touch any- you’re already touching it, alright then.”

“I dropped it. I think it broke.”

“Magnificent. Over here in front of Tsushima-san,” Dia went on, trying to get Chika away from the expensive equipment as quickly as possible, if only to ferry her towards more expensive equipment in the process, “is the board. It controls the various sound levels, and it’s what Tsushima-san uses to mute her microphone so her audience can’t hear us right now. You did remember to mute it, didn’t you?”

“...I did now.”

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t have listeners anyway.”

“Harsh, but truthful.”

“Hey,” Chika cut in, glancing over at Dia with a mischievous look in her eye. “You think anyone’s ever made out in this booth before?”

“I can say with absolute certainty that Kanan and Mari have,” Dia replied. “It was during my show, and I couldn’t leave.”

“Well have _ you _ ever made out in here?” Chika asked.

“I… I have not,” Dia admitted.

“Do you wanna?”

“Tsushima-san, get the fuck out.”

“It’s the middle of my show!”

“_You don’t have listeners._” Yoshiko shot Dia a glare as she said that but, reluctantly, ended up acquiescing.

“I’m gonna be back in eight minutes to load the next song,” she muttered. “You’d better still have clothes on.” With that she exited the booth, slamming the door behind her with just a bit more force than was strictly necessary, and once they were alone Chika turned towards Dia, stepping closer with a grin on her face.

“This is pretty quickly turning into the best night of my life,” she said.

“This is pretty quickly turning into the _ weirdest _ night of my life,” Dia replied.

“Weird in a good way, I hope.”

“Yes. Weird in a good way,” Dia agreed. “Now come here.” And with that Dia wrapped an arm around Chika’s waist, and pulled her forward into another kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

A week and a half had passed since Dia and Chika’s first date. By some miracle, the two of them had ended up going on another date since then. By an even larger miracle the second date had actually gone well, and by perhaps the largest miracle of all, their friends hadn’t even been involved in orchestrating it this time- aside, of course, from Kanan letting a badger loose in the Student Council building to get Dia out of another obligation. Some things never changed.

“Once again, I’ve been Mari Ohara. Thank you again for joining me, and I do hope to see you this Friday for my new segment ‘Ska in the Digital Age: Top Twenty Synthesized Skankers You Won’t Want to Miss.’ Until then be safe, use protection, and as always, stay shiny!” With her outro complete Mari banged her chin against the red button in front of her to kill her mic, before turning her attention up towards Kanan, who was standing over her. “Hanamaru-chan will be here for her shift any minute now. You should probably untie me.”

“Right. Yeah,” Kanan replied. “That’s disappointing.”

In another minute or two Mari was liberated from her restraints and fully clothed again and, leaving any trace of what they had been doing behind them, she and Kanan exited out into the radio station’s lounge. It was a normal enough scene, Dia curled up in one of the larger chairs with a cup of coffee in one hand and a textbook spread across her legs, You laid out across the couch, sound asleep, with her head resting in Ruby’s lap, Yoshiko writing “I will not do fallen angel impressions outside of my radio show” several hundred times over on a chalkboard in the corner.

“Still asleep, huh?” Kanan asked, glancing in You’s direction.

“Yeah,” Ruby replied, nodding. “I’ve been checking her breathing every few minutes, just to make sure, but I think she’s fine.” You had passed out on Ruby’s lap nearly fifteen hours ago at this point, and hadn’t woken up since. Ruby had come and gone several times since then, and You had somehow managed to sleep through it every single time. That was what happened when she stayed up for three days straight, apparently.

“What about you, Dia-san?” Mari hummed, bouncing her way over Dia’s chair and leaning in over her shoulder. “You look like you’re hard at work over here.”

“I’m studying,” Dia mumbled back. “Don’t interrupt me.”

“Tsk tsk, haven’t you learned anything?” Mari chided. “All work and no play makes Dia a dull girl!” Upon saying that Mari twirled around in front of Dia and snatched her textbook out of her lap, and Dia immediately shot forward to try to grab it back, very nearly hurling her coffee across the room in the process.

“Hey!” she snapped. “Give that back.”

“So you can work yourself to death again? I don’t think so! Catch, dear!” Mari shouted, before hurling the book the short distance across the room towards where Kanan was standing. Kanan’s jock reflexes allowed her to catch the textbook with ease, and for a moment Dia moved towards her to get it back, though that train of thought seemed to stop itself the moment Dia found herself staring up at Kanan’s far taller, far stronger figure.

“You want it?” Kanan asked, shit-eating grin appearing on her face as she lifted the book high up over her head, dangling it tauntingly out of Dia’s reach. “Go ahead and get it.”

“Your kneecaps are looking terribly exposed right now,” Dia threatened.

“Do your worst,” Kanan replied. “My kneecaps are rock solid. You’ll break your foot trying.”

“I have hot coffee.”

“Mari thinks lighters are sex toys. I’m numb to it.”

“That’s horrifying. That’s- Kanan,” Dia said, expression turning grimly serious. “I’m genuinely concerned about you.”

“Don’t be,” Kanan replied. “I’ve never cum so hard in my life.”

“_Horrid. _”

“Hellooooooooo everybody!” a new voice called out, interrupting Dia from her conversation and her concern. She looked towards the door to see Chika walking in, carrying with her what appeared to be a large bakery box. “I brought snacks!”

“_Nice_. Your girlfriend’s the best, Dia,” Kanan said, punching Dia on the shoulder before walking over towards Chika.

“She’s not my-” Dia started to protest, though she knew that was probably a losing argument. They had only been on two real dates, yes, and they hadn’t officially had the girlfriend talk, but Chika had been hanging around the radio station with Dia an awful lot lately. At this point it was only a matter of time.

Chika walked further into the radio station and dropped the box of sweets down on the small table at the center, plopping herself down onto the couch by You’s feet. You still hadn’t woken up, despite the commotion around her, or Chika’s very loud entrance, but now Ruby was starting to lightly prod at her girlfriend’s head, urging her back to consciousness.

“You-chaaaan,” she hummed, gently trying to jostle You awake. “Your roommate's here. She brought food. You want food, don’t you?” You made an absolutely incoherent noise in response to that, though after a few more seconds she did start to blink her eyes open, looking around in a state of utter confusion before she started to piece together where she was.

“...How long was I asleep?”

“Over half a day,” Ruby replied. “I sincerely worried you were dead at points.”

“I’m glad you’re not!” Chika chimed in. “Although… Having my own room would be kinda nice. And I heard a rumor that if your roommate dies they just give you an A in every class for the rest of the semester. So I guess that wouldn’t be so bad!”

“Gee, thanks, Chika-chan,” You muttered.

“Yes, thank you,” Dia added on, coming to sit on the arm of the couch next to Chika, speaking the words with far less sarcasm than You herself. “It was very kind of you to bring us food like this.”

“It’s no problem!” Chika insisted. “You guys all seem like you’re pretty hard at work here, after all.” Dia chose not to point out that _ she _was really the only one who had been doing anything even remotely productive, while You had been sleeping and Kanan and Mari had very clearly been having sex in the recording booth. And speaking of Kanan… “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about my textbook,” she added on, shooting her friend a glare while she reached into the box to grab one of the pastries. “As soon as I’m finished eating I’m coming for you.”

“Oooh, I’m shaking,” Kanan replied. “Chika, can you tell your girlfriend to chill?”

“She’s not-” Dia started to protest again, though before she could get further with that thought Chika was looking over towards her.

“What happened?”

“She _ stole _ my textbook,” Dia growled.

“Because she was overworking herself again,” Kanan replied. “I was just looking out for her.”

“Is that true, Dia-chan?” Chika asked. “Were you overworking herself?”

“That’s not- You’re not _ seriously _siding with her, are you??”

“I’m just asking!”

“Your girlfriend’s very wise, Dia,” Mari hummed, in between bites of a jelly donut that left powdered sugar under her nose in a way that made her fondly nostalgic for the good old cocaine parties of her high school days. Not that Mari had ever done cocaine herself, of course. She’d just smeared a little bit under her nose to fit in. “You should listen to her more.”

“She didn’t even say anything!” Dia insisted. “She just asked a question!”

“How much sleep did you get last night?” Chika asked, prompting Dia to glance over at her. A few seconds passed, and then she broke her eyes away before murmuring a response out under her breath.

“Two hours.”

“And why did you get so little sleep?” Chika continued.

“Because I was studying and doing homework,” Dia shamefully admitted.

“Alright then!” Chika said. “Show of hands, who thinks Dia-chan shouldn’t get her textbook back until after she sleeps?” Chika’s hand immediately shot up in response to her own question, hitting Dia with the fresh sting of betrayal, and Dia looked around the room as Mari, Kanan, and You all raised their hands as well. Though her vote hardly mattered at this point anyway Dia’s eyes finally landed on Ruby, who was sitting there perfectly rigid, nervously staring back at her older sister.

“Ruby,” Dia said.

“Onee-chan,” Ruby replied.

“Think very hard about your next action.”

“I-”

“Remember all I’ve done for you. Remember how much I love you.”

“I just-”

“You don’t want to do this.”

“I’m sorry,” Ruby whispered, before slowly raising her hand as well.

“You’re dead to me. I’m an only child now.”

“I understand.”

“But that settles that!” Mari hummed, snatching Dia’s textbook away from Kanan and tucking it securely under her own arm. “Ah, if there’s one thing we Italians love, it’s a little bit of healthy democracy.”

“Your country literally invented fascism,” Dia chided.

“And in true historic fashion, this vote was already rigged against you!” Mari replied. “I guess that makes me something of a modern day Musso-”

“_Nope,_” Kanan interrupted.

“Good call!”

“Anyway,” Chika said, leaning in closer to Dia to drape her arms around her neck. “If you wanna get that textbook back you know what you have to do!”

“I can’t just go to sleep whenever I damn well feel like it,” Dia bit back. “I have other things I need to do today.”

“Other things like _ sleep_,” Chika insisted. “If you try to force yourself to keep going on two hours of sleep you’ll just be too tired to do anything properly anyway! Trust me! There have been days when I got _ ten _ hours of sleep and I was _ still _ too exhausted to pay attention in my classes.”

“That sounds like you have an iron deficiency."

“Maybe so!” Chika agreed. “The point is, you can’t keep working yourself to death all the time."

"The point is _you might have an iron deficiency_."

"Let’s go back to my dorm room," Chika continued, ignoring Dia's concerns. "You-chan already fell asleep again so she won’t be there,” she said, pointing down the couch towards You, who had, in fact, already managed to pass out on Ruby’s lap once again. “We can curl up and take a long nap together. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“I’ll sleep later,” Dia tried to bargain. “Tonight. When people are _ supposed _ to sleep.”

“People are supposed to sleep whenever they want,” Chika replied. “It’s an evolutionary adaptation. If everyone slept at the same time it would have left prehistoric humans vulnerable to predators so instead some people are biologically programmed to be more awake during the day and some people are biologically programmed to be more awake during the night. It’s science!” It did indeed sound like science, and Dia was floored to hear something so coherent and intelligent coming out of Chika’s mouth.

“How on Earth do you know that?” she asked.

“I read it in a magazine once and then remembered it so I could win an argument with my mom when she chewed me out for sleeping until noon.”

“Ah. That makes sense.”

“Now,” Chika said, abruptly jumping up from the couch and grabbing Dia by the arm, attempting to drag her along as well. “Let’s go fulfill our biological imperative!”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll have quite a bit of fun going back to your dorm room to fulfill your biological imperative with Dia,” Mari snickered, though Chika didn’t seem to understand what was so funny.

“I said I’m not going,” Dia continued to argue, though for someone who seemed so lazy Chika was _ shockingly _ strong, and had already managed to pull Dia up and off the couch. Maybe that just spoke to how pathetically tired Dia really was.

“Will you do it for me?” Chika asked, looking over towards Dia with the saddest, most pleading expression she could muster. “_I _really want a nap, and it would be a lot nicer if you were there with me.” Dia opened her mouth to refuse that request as well, though the words got caught in her throat when she saw Chika’s pathetic, wide-eyed puppy dog face staring back at her, piercing into her heart. She ended up closing her mouth, and then looked off to the side, before reluctant muttering a response out under her breath.

“_Fine _ .” The moment she agreed to that a gasp ran throughout the room, Mari and Kanan and Ruby all in shock that someone had _ actually _ successfully managed to convince Dia to change her mind on anything, let alone something like taking a nap in the middle of the day. Chika, meanwhile, just seemed elated, bouncing closer towards the door and clapping her hands together with delight.

“Yay! Let’s hurry up and go, then! We can even break out the good pillows, from You-chan’s side of the room.”

“By which you mean You-san’s pillows.”

“Yeah, exactly! Come on!”

“Just don’t expect this to become a habit,” Dia muttered, shooting a sideways glare towards a very smug-looking Kanan and Mari as she made her way towards the door.

“Have fuuuun,” Kanan snickered.

“Enjoy your ‘nap,’” Mari added on.

“You know they’re actually gonna go nap, right?”

“I know,” Mari said. “It’s just reflex at this point. I can’t control my suggestive voice.”

“You both suck,” Dia grumbled, following Chika over to the door, before letting out a long, resigned sigh. “Shall we?”

“Let’s go!” Chika said, grabbing Dia by the hand.

“I love you, onee-chan!” Ruby called after them.

“You’re still dead to me!” Dia called back. And then she let Chika lead the way out of the radio station, and back towards the afternoon of relaxation that was waiting for her.


End file.
